Charles Demuth

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1883 - 1935

Though he was one of its most successful sons, Charles Demuth and his vibrant paintings were little known to the rest of Lancaster during his time. As a member of the Lost Generation, Demuth partied in Paris with Gertrude Stein and Marcel Duchamp, summered in Provincetown with Eugene O'Neill, and received visits from Georgia O'Keefe and William Carlos Williams at his King Street home when he was too ill to travel. A bad hip and a debilitating case of diabetes would keep him tied to "the Province" and to his mother, "Augusta the Ironclad," over the course of his relatively short life. While the staid, quiet life of Lancaster was often a source of frustration for Demuth, it would also become one of his greatest inspirations. In a series of pioneering Precisionist paintings that would culminate with "My Egypt", one of his better-known works, the artist approached the landscape of his hometown with a touch of irony and the eye of an urban archeologist. Demuth was also known for his arresting still lifes, the poster portraits he created for his creative friends, including "The Figure 5 in Gold" dedicated to William Carlos Williams, and a series on vaudevillians. The artist's bedroom studio has been preserved as it was when he passed away and is now part of the Demuth Museum.