Charles Demuth

1883-1935

American Artist

Demuth was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. A childhood leg injury left him unable to walk, and at an early age he began to draw and paint. After studying at the School of Industrial Art in Philadelphia, he entered the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1905 and took classes with William Merritt Chase and Thomas Anschutz.In 1907 Demuth went to Paris, where Fauve painting with its expressive form and color affected his early work. Much of his work is rooted in French modernism. He painted with oil and tempera as well as watercolor and completed about 750 paintings and 350 drawings during his lifetime. Beginning in 1916, his style reflected the influence of Cubism, as seen in his architectural paintings. He became a leading artist of the Precisionist movement and produced pieces that he called “portrait posters.”