Charles Edward Chambers

Charles Edward Chambers (August 9, 1883 - November 5, 1941) was an American illustrator and classical painter. He is most-known for his Chesterfield cigarettes advertisements and Steinway & Sons portraits that ran during the early 1900s. Chambers also illustrated stories for writers W. Somerset Maugham and Pearl S. Buck, among others. These appeared in various magazines including, Cosmopolitan, Harper's, and Redbook.

Personal life and education

Chambers was born on August 9, 1883, in Ottumwa, Iowa to Horatio Cox Chambers (1849-1914) and Rosa A. Lee Chambers (1849-1920). He had one sibling, Helen Lee Chambers (1880-1899).

Chambers received his education in art from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Later, he attended the National Academy of Design, where he studied under George Bridgman.

Chambers later remarried to Pauline True (1912-?), the model from his 1933 Red Cross painting.

In the 1920s, Chambers was commissioned by Steinway & Sons to paint portraits of popular pianists. These portraits of pianists, which included Sergie Rachmaninoff, Josef Hoffman, Alfred Cortot, and Paderewski, were widely reproduced for nine years.

In 1912, Chambers became a member of the Society of Illustrators. He was later President of the Artists Guild and member of the Allied AA.

Chambers' style of painting has been described as, "extremely competent, marked by subtlety of value and color." Other critics have said that because of the "polish" of his paintings, one would think he had studied at the French Academy. The use of color was considered his strength.

In 1931, he was awarded the 2nd Altman Prize at the National Academy of Design exhibition for his portrait of artist John Alonzo Williams. In 2010, Chambers was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Society of Illustrators.