Art of the 20th Century

 

Art Styles in 20th century Art Map



 

Charles Demuth





 

Charles Demuth


born November 8, 1883, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.
died October 23, 1935, Lancaster

Painter who helped channel modern European movements into American art and who was also a leading exponent of Precisionism.

Demuth's early training was under Thomas Anshutz and W.M. Chase at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Between 1907 and 1913 Demuth made several trips to Europe to study, and while in Paris he was attracted by the work of Marcel Duchamp and the Cubists, influences that lasted throughout his career. After returning to the United States, he illustrated works by several of his favourite authors. Moving gradually away from illustrative art, he executed a series of watercolours of flowers, circuses,and café scenes that placed him in the first rank of watercolourists of his period. Late in his career, Demuth began to paint advertisements and billboards into such cityscapes as his Buildings, Lancaster (1930), in which bold, commercial lettering is complemented by the severely hard-edged abstraction of buildings. Among Demuth's best-known works are his poster portraits such as the tribute to the poet William Carlos Williams, I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold.
 

Dancing sailors


 

Marcher receives his revelation at May Bartram's Tomb


 

Marshall's


 

In Vaudeville: The green dancer


 

Nana, seated left, and satin at Laure's Restaurant


 

In Vaudeville: Dancer with chorus


 

Acrobats


 

Man and woman, Provincetown