George Luks
born August 13, 1867, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, U.S.
died October 29, 1933, New York, New York
in full George Benjamin Luks one of a group of American painters popularly
known as the Ashcan school because of their realistic treatment of urban
scenes.
Born in a coal-mining region of north-central Pennsylvania, Luks studied
first at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, and
later in Germany, London, and Paris. Returning to the United States in
1894, he became an illustrator for the Philadelphia Press. During that
period he met the painter and teacher Robert Henri and the newspaper
illustrators John Sloan and William J. Glackens. Luks went to Cuba in 1895
as a correspondent artist for the Philadelphia Bulletin during the Cuban
struggle for independence from Spain. After returning to the United
States, he worked as a cartoonist, drawing the popular Hogan's Alley for
the New York World. Between 1902 and 1903 Luks lived in Paris, where he
not only continued his art studies but also became increasingly
preoccupied with the depiction of modern city life. When he returned to
New York City, he settled in the bohemian enclave of Greenwich Village and
began to paint realistic pictures of New Yorkers; notable examples from
this period are The Spielers (1905), possibly his best-known work, and The
Wrestlers (1905).
In 1908, with Henri, Sloan, Glackens, and four other painters, Luks formed
a group called The Eight, whose exhibition in New York that year marked a
key event in the history of modern painting in the United States. After
this event, Luks received the support of art dealers and patrons. He and
the other members of The Eight were eventually absorbed into a larger
group of artists known as the Ashcan school, which continued the
exploration of modern, urban realities. Luks continued to pursue his
realistic depictions of urban scenes even while new schools of abstraction
began to dominate the New York art world. After teaching at the Art
Students League from 1920 to 1924, Luks opened his own art school.
