The work of American realist painter and illustrator Charles Edward Chambers is characterized by such an exceptional mastery of color and composition that, in his day, his refined figurative paintings may have fooled collectors into thinking he was a graduate of the Académie des Beaux-Arts.
Born in 1883 in Ottumwa, Iowa, Chambers studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Students League of New York under Canadian-American painter George Bridgman. Another of his teachers was illustrator Fanny Munsell (later his wife), who influenced his style and technique. Munsell secured illustration work for a range of magazines, including Cosmopolitan and Women’s Home Companion, before she died in 1920.
Chambers learned to modify his painting technique so that his work was primed for reproduction on a mass scale. He gained recognition as a classical figurative painter and illustrator during World War I when, in 1917, he illustrated a well-known poster for the U.S. Food Administration titled Food Will Win The War. He was also a regular contributor as an illustrator at the time to Harper’s Monthly and created covers for Redbook magazine.
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Chambers kept busy with editorial assignments and advertising campaigns. While it’s true that Art Nouveau posters were plastered everywhere along the streets of Paris during the early years of the Belle Époque, poster art continued to remain very relevant in the Art Deco years, too. While creating illustrations for authors such as Pearl Buck, W. Somerset Maugham, Faith Baldwin and Louis Bromfield, Chambers earned advertising commissions from the decades’ prominent companies and brands. These included painting portraits of famous musicians Sergei Rachmaninoff, Alfred Cortot and Ignacy Jan Paderewski for Steinway & Sons and designing billboard ads and posters for cigarette company Chesterfield and soap manufacturer Palmolive.
Today, Chambers’s works remain favorites among collectors of vintage 20th-century art.
Find original Charles Edward Chambers paintings and prints on 1stDibs.
Story illustration for “Appearance and Reality” by Somerset Maugham
By Charles E. Chambers
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Story illustration for “Appearance and Reality” by W. Somerset Maugham, published in Cosmopolitan, November 1934, pages 22-23. Described as "A masterfully witty story of manners and...
Canvas, Oil
$14,800Sale Price|20% Off
“I was playing Chopin, with an ache in my heart.” Illustration for Harper’s Mag
By Charles E. Chambers
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Story illustration for “The High Cost of Conscience” by Beatrice Witt Ravenel for Harper’s Magazine, published January 1919. Year: 1918 Dimensions: 30.00" x 21.00", Framed 35.5" x ...
Canvas, Oil
$103,072
H 28.15 in W 40.16 in
Large Painting by Rogelio de Egusquiza, A Reverie During The Ball
By Rogelio de Egusquiza y Barrena
Located in Madrid, ES
ROGELIO DE EGUSQUIZA Spanish, 1845 - 1915 A REVERIE DURING THE BALL signed and dated "Rog. Egusquiza 1879" (lower right) oil on canvas 21-3/4 x 33-5/...
Canvas, Oil
$25,000
H 34 in W 28 in D 2 in
"Sock Hop" Mid-Century American Modernism WPA Female Artist 20th Century Realism
By Kyra Markham
Located in New York, NY
"Sock Hop" Mid-Century American Modernism WPA Female Artist 20th Century Realism. 30 x 24 inches. Oil on canvas. Signed on stretcher, c. 1940s. Frame is likely original to the painting. Realist painter-printmaker Kyra Markham...
Canvas, Oil
Wine Bottles and Fruit on Table
By Zygmund Jankowski
Located in Gloucester, MA
Zygmund Jankowski (1925–2009) painted traditional subjects with exuberant irreverence for traditional rules of color, composition, and perspective. He disparaged imitation and deligh...
Canvas, Oil
Untitled
Located in PARIS, FR
This original painting by Sigismond Kolos-Vary, dated 1982, reflects the artist’s distinctive abstract visual language. The composition is built around a dynamic interplay of geometr...
Canvas, Oil
Paris under the sun
Located in PARIS, FR
Oscar Rabine was a renowned Russian-French painter and one of the leading figures of nonconformist art in the Soviet Union. Born in 1928 in Moscow, he became known for his expressive...
Canvas, Oil
$500
H 9.85 in W 13.78 in D 1.19 in
Armenian Contemporary Art by Kamsar Ohanyan - Sunny Room
By Kamsar Ohanyan
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on canvas
Canvas, Oil
Hotel Night Lobby. Large Mid-Century American Oil Painting.
By Clyde Singer
Located in Marco Island, FL
A long and quiet night in the hotel lobby is depicted by Clyde Singer in this moody and still painting. Entitled Hotel Night Lobby (1947), Singer paints a moment of solitude during ...
Oil, Canvas
$51,536
H 31.5 in W 39.38 in
Large Painting by José Jiménez Aranda, Partida de Tresillo
Located in Madrid, ES
JOSÉ JIMÉNEZ ARANDA Spanish, 1837 - 1903 PARTIDA DE TRESILLO signed, located & dated “Jz. Aranda / Madrid. 1893.” (lower right) oil on canvas 31-1/2 x 39-1/3 inches (80 x 100 cm) unframed BIBLIOGRAPHY - This painting being mentioned and reproduced in “LA ILUSTRACION ESPAÑOLA Y AMERICANA”, Madrid, September 15th, 1895 - B. Pantorba, José Jiménez Aranda, 1973, p. 75, 203 - José Jiménez Aranda, 1837-1903: Centro Cultural El Monte, Sevilla, October 2005, reproduced on p. 102 EXHIBITED Madrid, Esposición Nacional de Bellas Artes, 1895 PROVENANCE Private Collection, US José Jiménez Aranda (7 February 1837 – 6 May 1903) was a Spanish painter and brother of the painters Luis Jiménez...
Oil, Canvas
Composition
Located in PARIS, FR
Signed by the artist, lower left. This expressive painting by Erald Alentar is characterized by a dense, tactile surface and a rich, earthy palette dominated by deep greens, browns,...
Canvas, Oil
Untitled
By Jeanne Coppel
Located in PARIS, FR
This work by Jeanne Coppel belongs to a powerful and expressive gestural abstraction. The surface is animated by layered textures, vigorous brushwork, and strong contrasts between de...
Canvas, Oil
Composition
By Natalia Dumitresco
Located in PARIS, FR
Important work by the artist, were exhibited at Kunsthalle Recklinghausen, Radical Innovations, 2024-25. Signed lower right. Natalia Dumitresco (or Dumitrescu) was born in Buchare...
Canvas, Oil
$19,850
H 25.88 in W 20.25 in D 3.5 in
A Very Fine Italian Oil on Canvas Titled "The Solo Violinist or Violin Teacher "
Located in LA, CA
A very fine Italian oil on canvas titled "The Solo Violinist" by Luigi Da Rios (Italian, 1844-1892), depicting an interior 18th century room scene of a single violinist player; withi...
Gesso, Canvas, Wood, Oil
$1,100
H 28 in W 16 in D 1 in
Travel Guide. Seated male figure reading large yellow bird shaped canvas
By Stephen Basso
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Painted on an arch shaped canvas signed on lower left and on reverse. ABOUT Stephen Basso Stephen Basso's highly original pastels and oil paintings are romantic, yet thought provo...
Canvas, Oil
Holiday Pastime
Located in Greenville, DE
Excellent example of Pearson's work in 33" x 38" 23k gold leaf, custom frame. Signed lower left.
Canvas, Oil
Untitled
Located in PARIS, FR
Domoto’s painting is a visceral exploration of energy and movement, rendered in layers of black, orange, red, and hints of other vivid hues. Richly textured, each stroke conveys inte...
Canvas, Oil
Elderly Couple
By Charles E. Chambers
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Signature: Signed Lower Left Framed: 36.00" x 41.00"
Canvas, Oil