George Luks (1867-1933) was a prominent American painter at the time of
the Armory Show, best known for his involvement in both The Eight and
the Ashcan School. Luks and his peers painted Realist subjects which were
rebellious to the more traditional, Victorian ideals of the National Academy,
and helped lay the foundation for more avant-garde American art.
Raised in rural Pennsylvania, Luks grew up near coal mines and spent
his early life in poverty, which may account for his predilection for
underprivileged subjects. In the early 1890s, after a brief stint in art
school, Luks traveled to Europe where he was impressed predominantly
by Dutch old master paintings. He absorbed the work of artists such as
Rembrandt and Frans Hals, and their depictions of everyday scenes. Luks’
painting
A Pennsylvania Dutchwoman
, which was exhibited in the Armory
Show (with an asking price of $950, or around $22,500 today), reveals
the deep influence these Dutch masters had on the American artist.
Luks honed his attention to depicting everyday activities while working
as an illustrator for the Philadelphia Press, where he met John Sloan (lots
157-163), William Glackens (lots 166 and 167) and Everett Shinn. In 1896,
Luks moved to New York, where his Realist style of painting became
more fully realized. Luks, Sloan, Glackens and Shinn joined Henri,
Prendergast, Lawson and Davies in The Eight’s landmark 1908 Macbeth
Galleries show, which significantly helped Luks establish his reputation
as a painter, especially of portraits (lots 176 and 177), reducing his
dependency on illustration work.
Luks was appointed by Robert Henri, his mentor, to serve on the AAPS’s
General Executive Committee, which was charged with organizing the
Armory Show. Henri, Luks and other original members later resigned from
the committee as the Armory Show exceeded their vision, as European
Modernism—championed by Davies and his circle—eclipsed the American
artists. Though Luks’ work was groundbreaking when it was first exhibited
with The Eight, it appeared traditional in comparison with the modern
European works that appeared in the Armory Show. After 1913, Luks and
his fellow American artists were considered an outdated group, a stigma
they never escaped. Tragically, in 1933, Luks died on the streets of New
York City after being badly injured in a bar fight.
