Charles Demuth

(American, 1883–1935)

Charles Demuth was an American artist best known for his luminous watercolors of flowers, figures, and architecture. A part of the Precisionist movement alongside Charles Sheeler and Gerald Murphy, Demuth employed vivid hues, exacting lines, and angular forms. In his hallmark work I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold (1928), Demuth visually transcribed William Carlos Williams’s poem The Great Figure (1921), through typography, gold leaf, and fire-engine red paint. “Paintings must be looked at and looked at and looked at,” he once said. “No writing, no talking, no singing, no dancing will explain them.” Born on November 8, 1883 in Lancaster, PA, he first experimented with watercolor while bedridden from an injury. Demuth went on to attend Franklin and Marshall College, Drexel University, and received his graduate degree from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Having finished his education, he spent his time between New York, Paris, and Provincetown, MA, developing friendships with the playwright Eugene O’Neill, as well as Marcel Duchamp, Marsden Hartley, and Alfred Stieglitz. Suffering from early onset diabetes, Demuth returned to Lancaster in 1921 to undergo experimental treatments. The Metropolitan Museum of Art purchased one of his works in 1923, and he had a string of successful solo exhibitions over the following years. Demuth died on October 23, 1935 in Lancaster, PA, leaving much of his estate to his close friend Georgia O’Keeffe. Today, his works are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, and the Demuth Museum in Lancaster, among others.

Charles Demuth Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Charles Demuth (333 results)
SEVEN PLUMS IN A CHINESE BOWL, 1923

Charles Demuth

SEVEN PLUMS IN A CHINESE BOWL, 1923

Sale Date: December 5, 1991

Auction Closed

A RECLINING FIGURE, SINGLE FIGURE NUMBER TWELVE,

Charles Demuth

A RECLINING FIGURE, SINGLE FIGURE NUMBER TWELVE,

Sale Date: November 14, 1991

Auction Closed

STUDY OF CI, TREES AND FIGURE STUDIES

Charles Demuth

STUDY OF CI, TREES AND FIGURE STUDIES

Sale Date: May 21, 1991

Auction Closed

FIGURES WALKING, THREE WORKS FRAMED AS ONE, 1908

Charles Demuth

FIGURES WALKING, THREE WORKS FRAMED AS ONE, 1908

Sale Date: May 18, 1991

Auction Closed

Woman with an umbrella

Charles Demuth

Woman with an umbrella

Sale Date: May 15, 1991

Auction Closed

Overlooking the bay

Charles Demuth

Overlooking the bay

Sale Date: November 30, 1990

Auction Closed

Song and dance, 1918–1918

Charles Demuth

Song and dance, 1918–1918

Sale Date: November 30, 1990

Auction Closed

Spray of flowers

Charles Demuth

Spray of flowers

Sale Date: November 30, 1990

Auction Closed

Ta nana, 1916–1916

Charles Demuth

Ta nana, 1916–1916

Sale Date: November 30, 1990

Auction Closed

Sail: In two movements, 1919–1919

Charles Demuth

Sail: In two movements, 1919–1919

Sale Date: November 29, 1990

Auction Closed

Prince's feathers, 1918–1918

Charles Demuth

Prince's feathers, 1918–1918

Sale Date: November 29, 1990

Auction Closed

ORIENTAL MASKS, FIGURES SEATEDAND FIGURE WITH...

Charles Demuth

ORIENTAL MASKS, FIGURES SEATEDAND FIGURE WITH...

Sale Date: November 20, 1990

Auction Closed

Head and a standing figure

Charles Demuth

Head and a standing figure

Sale Date: May 31, 1990

Auction Closed

Fragments

Charles Demuth

Fragments

Sale Date: May 31, 1990

Auction Closed

Women on the beach, Provincetown

Charles Demuth

Women on the beach, Provincetown

Sale Date: May 24, 1990

Auction Closed

THE JAZZ SINGER, 1916–1916

Charles Demuth

THE JAZZ SINGER, 1916–1916

Sale Date: May 23, 1990

Auction Closed

PANSIES AND DUNES,PROVINCETOWNA..., 1915–1915

Charles Demuth

PANSIES AND DUNES,PROVINCETOWNA..., 1915–1915

Sale Date: May 23, 1990

Auction Closed

Two seated figures

Charles Demuth

Two seated figures

Sale Date: February 1, 1990

Auction Closed

Two women on beach, Provincetown

Charles Demuth

Two women on beach, Provincetown

Sale Date: February 1, 1990

Auction Closed

Building

Charles Demuth

Building

Sale Date: January 24, 1990

Auction Closed

Three dancers, 1916–1917

Charles Demuth

Three dancers, 1916–1917

Sale Date: January 24, 1990

Auction Closed

Vase, 1915–1915

Charles Demuth

Vase, 1915–1915

Sale Date: January 17, 1990

Auction Closed

Woman in an evening dress

Charles Demuth

Woman in an evening dress

Sale Date: January 17, 1990

Auction Closed

Song and dance, 1918–1918

Charles Demuth

Song and dance, 1918–1918

Sale Date: December 1, 1989

Auction Closed

English (US)

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