| George Luks | ||
| Birth Date: August 13, 1867 |
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| Death Date: October 29, 1933 Artist Gallery |
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| George Luks is one of the most colorful figures from the Ashcan School. He was quite the dashing figure, and he lived for art and wanted his art – not just his paintings, but his ideas – to outlive him. For Luks, the 20th century remained a personal adventure.
Although he had little formal training, he studied for a month at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1884, and then travelled extensively in Europe during the early 1890s. By 1894, he had joined the Philadelphia Press as an illustrator, but he was encouraged to return to painting by William Glackens. Luks became a member of the American Watercolor Society in 1911.
Luks work in both oil and watercolor mediums. As a colorist in watercolor, he had few rivals. After 1915, he chose rural themes more frequently; and his vibrant landscapes demonstrate the joy he found in watercolor – the energy he brought to it, and respect for the medium.
Judith O’Toole, Director of the Westmoreland Museum of Art and the leading scholar on Luks, wrote the following about “My House, Berkshire Hills…the title of which shows Luks’ proprietary fondness for his summer retreat (near Old Chatham, New York), is a brilliant piece. The white house is outlined in red, yellow and blue to set it apart from the vibrant color of the surrounding fields and mountains. The Expressionistic color and Post-Impressionistic brush strokes are strong evocations of Luks; sustained skill with the medium. The dramatic red signatures, a color often used buy Luks when he signed his pieces, further impresses the artist’s presence in the work. A great sense of pleasure exudes from the piece as it did from Luks himself, who was a self-described lover of life; the green rocker on the side porch of the house was probably much used”.
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