Charles Demuth (1883 - 1935)

Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Demuth moved with his family to this 18th century brick row home at the age of 6. Here, in his home and studio, Demuth created over 1,000 artworks, many of which were inspired by the people, places, and things he encountered in his hometown.

Demuth traveled extensively and his art was energized by his experiences. As an artist and a gay man in the early 20th century, Demuth’s social and professional circles included that of the avant-garde art and queer communities.

Demuth’s creativity abounded in various forms and he became a master watercolorist. However, some of his most significant contributions to art history were painted in other mediums. These include Precisionist paintings, adaptated from Cubism principles, and Poster Portraits layered with symbolism.

Charles Demuth’s legacy as a pioneer in American Modernism continues to captivate and inspire today.

The Principal Place

While Demuth’s travels throughout the Northeast United States and Europe motivated his artwork, there is no greater consistent influence than Lancaster, Pennsylvania. His hometown was where he began his artistic training and produced the majority of his artwork. It also served as a refuge during bouts of illness.

Lancaster was not short on subject matter for Demuth. Nearly every aspect of the environment was an inspiration. His mother’s backyard garden provided blooms for his floral still lifes, local produce from the markets inspired his vegetable and fruit pieces, performances in the city’s theaters spurred vaudeville-themed works, and his observations of the growing urban landscape and architecture in the early 20th century drove him to create Precisionist masterpieces.

Whether by choice or necessity due to health complications, it is remarkable that one place was able to satisfy his artistic appetite and nurture creative exploration in a variety of ways.
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“My Egypt”

One of Demuth’s most famous Precisionist artworks, My Egypt, was inspired by the Eshelman Grain Elevators that once stood on North Queen Street in Lancaster City. Many of his later works featured urban landscapes and architecture.

Charles Demuth’s Social Sphere

“Demuth was also one of the few artists whom all other artists liked as a real friend, a rare case indeed.” - Marcel Duchamp

Community played a central role in Charles Demuth’s life. In addition to friendships formed in his hometown, Demuth’s social network extended far beyond Lancaster County to the most prominent and celebrated voices in the avant-garde artistic circles of the early 20th century. His relationships were centered around his passion for art in all its forms. Demuth established bonds with painters, photographers, writers, designers, collectors, and art critics. With these individuals, Demuth helped lead the American Modern Art movement and created lasting influence through his work. Many of Demuth’s closest friendships were with other members of the bohemian and queer communities in New York, Paris, and Provincetown, Massachusetts.

“I always enjoyed [Charles Demuth]. I thought him more fun than other artists.”- Georgia O’Keeffe

A Watercolor Master

Before the 20th century, watercolor was considered a preparatory practice for oil painting or a portable medium for vacations. It was also regarded as a "ladies' medium" for china and botanical painting. It did not gain appreciation as a serious technique until the early 1900s.

Watercolor works were not widely exhibited or collected, and the materials needed for the art form were relatively inexpensive. American Modernists like Charles Demuth and John Marin embraced watercolor for its accessible and unconventional approach to art. 

Through experimentation and practice, Demuth mastered multiple watercolor techniques and created works in diverse styles. He used watercolor as his primary means of expression, working in the medium throughout his lifetime.

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Caption

Photographer and gallery owner Alfred Stieglitz promoted watercolors in his New York City shows, insisting that watercolor has “equal potential value” with oil painting, sculpture, prints, and photography. Watercolors by Charles Demuth were featured in Stieglitz’s 1925 Seven Americans exhibition, in addition to works by fellow Modernists Arthur G. Dove, Marsden Hartley, John Marin, Paul Strand, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Stieglitz.

The Demuth watercolor pictured to the left, Early Landscape (1914), was a gift from Demuth to Stieglitz. Stieglitz wrote on the back of the mount:

“From Demuth— who gave me this in Dec. 1917 saying it was the first work he did after his first talk with me at “291" [Stieglitz’s gallery] about his own work— He says he found this recently and feels it belongs to me.”

What is Modernism?

Like many definitions in art history, Modernism or Modern art are subjective and prone to debate. Modernism describes a social and cultural movement that occurred in western Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Following the first World War, major social and political changes encouraged experimentation in all things, particularly in art. In an era of urbanization, industrialization, and the rise of capitalism, Modernists began to challenge the Victorian era’s traditions and ideals.

Modernism contains a wide range of art movements, including Impressionism, Expressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, and Precisionism, all of which experimented with form, line, color, process, and material. Rather than attempting to accurately capture the likeness of the world around them, Modernists focused on expression of emotion to better reflect the reality of their modern society. In the United States, there was a push away from European influence to create a distinct American style of art.

“All this work comes only out of the American scene, it could come from no other. All of it is covered; glazed with our own wit.” - Charles Demuth

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Caption

Marchel Duchamp

Nude Descending a Staircase (No.2)

This work was shown in New York City’s 1913 Armory Show. It was the first large exhibition of Modern art in the U.S.

Marsden Hartley

Landscape, New Mexico

An American Modernist artist, Hartley was a major influence in the development of a uniquely American style of art.

Diabetes

“...for he never knew when he would be overtaken with those violent and terrifying collapses, due chiefly to neglect in punctuality of regime.” - Marsden Hartley, friend and artist

Charles Demuth fell seriously ill and returned to Lancaster during his summer trip to Provincetown, Massachusetts in 1920. This is when he first began to experience the symptoms of diabetes. Awareness of the disease dates back to ancient Egypt, yet thousands of years of research led to little understanding with no effective treatments and a diagnosis that was fatal within weeks to months. The onset of Demuth’s symptoms arrived just as insulin was discovered in 1921. 

At the recommendation of Dr. Albert C. Barnes, Demuth had his first consultation at a hospital in Morristown, New Jersey in February 1921. Though he tried to minimize diabetes’ effects on his life, the disease impacted his ability to travel, paint, and socialize.

In April 1922, Demuth entered Morristown under the care of Dr. Frederick Allen, M.D., who was known for his innovative treatment of diabetes. Demuth’s first treatment consisted of a starvation diet with just 500 calories per day. This method helped stabilize his blood sugar, but was not a long-term solution. Though insulin was available, Demuth resisted for a year, receiving his first insulin injection in April 1923. The drug’s effect was almost immediate.

“It is beyond belief, the power and subtlety of the serum” - Charles Demuth (referring to insulin)

Without receiving the most advanced care available at the time, including insulin treatment, Demuth would have likely died in the 1920s. Still, the disease proved too severe and he eventually succumbed to complications from diabetes in 1935.

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Caption

Charles Demuth during starvation treatment in Morristown, New Jersey, 1922

Augusta Wills Buckius Demuth

"Charles adored his mother. There was always much badinage (witty conversation) between them. How they would go on, arguing about this and that, but all in the spirit of mutual adoration." - Robert Locher, friend of Charles Demuth

Augusta Demuth, Charles’ mother, was nicknamed “Augusta the Ironclad” and playfully described as “a ship under full sail” by her son. She was a strong and supportive presence throughout the artist’s life. Augusta provided Charles with art lessons at an early age and encouraged his creativity. She was also an avid gardener and the family spent time together in her large Victorian garden - a source of artistic inspiration for Charles from childhood to adulthood.

Augusta continued to support Charles in his adult life, not only financially, but as an avid pen pal. Surviving correspondence reveals an affectionate and supportive relationship:

“Your latest letters - the two with the four leafed clovers have been received, I hope with you that they bring me luck….I’ve put all the four leafed clovers in my shoes. I’ve been quite well for a week or ten days, hoping you are, with love, Lovingly, Charlie.”

This letter was sent while Charles was in Paris for the last time in 1921, in the midst of his diabetes diagnosis. Upon his return and decline in health, Augusta became even more of a central figure in Charles’ life. She dutifully weighed his food intake and assisted with his treatments.

After Charles died in 1935, Augusta kept all of her son’s belongings untouched until her own death in 1943. This included the tray for his diabetic syringe covered with a white towel or napkin, which she changed every week until her death.

Further cementing Augusta’s unconditional support for her son, it is reported that after his death, she gave Robert Locher a portfolio of Charles’ erotic work and said, “I'm sure that anything that Charles did was art. You will know what to do with these.”

A Color Close-up

Demuth’s watercolor process often began with a sketch outlined in pencil. In some works, Demuth would then determine his color palette by labeling each area of the sketch with the colors that he planned to use. In Provincetown Rooftops (1916), labels for many colors are visible throughout the painting, including “cerulean” in the bay, “lemon” in the sails of the ships, and “rose”, “purple”, “black”, “violet-gray”, and “yellow-gray” in the rooftops.

Demuth’s Watercolor Techniques

Wet on Wet: The use of wet paint on wet paper. Demuth used this technique often in the backgrounds of his watercolors. 

Wet on Dry: Applying wet paint on dry paper. This technique was used by Demuth to create crisp edges or outlines.

Salting: Sprinkling salt on wet paint to absorb pigment and create texture.

Blotting: Removing sections of paint with a towel or rag. Demuth used this technique to lighten colors in his paintings.

Beyond “The Province”

Charles Demuth referred to Lancaster as “the Province” and his home as “the Chateau.” While Lancaster was where Charles Demuth primarily resided, he traveled extensively, especially before the onset of diabetes in the early 1920s. Here are some of the key places that impacted Charles Demuth’s life and work.

Philadelphia

Demuth enrolled at The Drexel Institute of Art in October 1903, where he began living part-time in the city for his first formal art training. Two years later in 1905, Demuth commenced his studies at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where he participated in coursework full-time until 1910 and then intermittently through 1912. It was in Philadelphia where he met lifelong friends, poet William Carlos Williams and collector Dr. Albert C. Barnes.

New York City

Demuth traveled to New York often starting in the early 1900s. In the winter of 1915, he rented an apartment on Washington Square for a few months. It was here that  Demuth participated in artist salons, exhibited his work in galleries and frequented jazz clubs and bathhouses before returning to Lancaster.

Bermuda

With Europe in the midst of World War I, Marsden Hartley and Demuth sailed to Bermuda in the winter of 1917 looking for new ideas and approaches to their work. It was in Bermuda, that Cubist ideas were explored.

New Hope, Pennsylvania

Demuth followed instructors and classmates to the artist colony on the shores of the Delaware River in the summer of 1907. He visited again in the summer of 1908. New Hope was the center of the Pennsylvania Impressionist movement. Here, Demuth experimented with techniques he learned at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

Europe

During Demuth’s first extensive European trip from fall 1907 through spring 1908, most of his time was spent in Paris. There he saw the Paul Cezanne memorial exhibition and met siblings Leo and Gertrude Stein, who hosted weekly artist salons. He visited Berlin at Christmas to spend time with a cousin studying music there. 

He traveled to Europe again from fall 1912 through spring 1914. Landing in Antwerp, Belgium, Demuth painted in the coastal town of Étretat, France before traveling to England. After he briefly visited Berlin, he studied at various art academies in Paris. He met artist Marsden Hartley at a Paris cafe and the two quickly became close friends. Demuth visited Gertrude Stein and her partner Alice Toklas at their Paris salon. It was likely the first time Demuth witnessed a publicly open same-sex relationship.

Demuth’s final European journey in August 1921 started with two weeks in London, followed by time in Paris. Within the first month of his trip, he was admitted to the American Hospital in Paris due to the effects of diabetes. After discharge, he spent another 2 months in Paris, then returned to the U.S.

Provincetown, Massachusetts

Demuth vacationed in this Cape Cod retreat in the early 1900s with family friends. He returned during several summer seasons between 1914 and 1920.

In 1915, Demuth was among the founding members of the Provincetown Players, an artist collective involved in forming the modern era of American theater and  launching playwright Eugene O’Neill’s career. The summer of 1916 was dubbed by artist Marsden Hartley as “The Great Provincetown Summer” when the artists were contemplating, “How do we live an authentic life?” 

This desire for authenticity inspired Demuth and Hartley to be their true selves in this art colony, and they are recognized by historians for their roles in developing a culture accepting of sexual and gender minorities.

“By appearing publicly and proudly as elegant bachelors, Hartley and Demuth challenged contemporary beliefs that condemned homosexuality”-  Karen Christel Krahulik, Historian

Demuth visited Provincetown again in 1930 and 1934. Both times he was accompanied by friends from Lancaster, likely to aid him with his ailing health.

Morristown, New Jersey

Diagnosed with diabetes in 1921, Demuth was referred to Dr. Frederick Allen in Morristown for treatment. He spent several months in the hospital and was unable to produce work here due to his health, but kept up correspondence with friends and family. He was admitted again in spring 1923 when he began receiving insulin treatment.

History of the Site

Charles Demuth called East King Street home for most of his life. The property was built between 1750-1760 and is part of the largest block of buildings from that era still standing in Lancaster City. Originally serving as the William Pitt - Earl of Chatham Tavern from 1760 until the 1830s, the building provided lodging, food, and drink to travelers and locals alike. The tavern’s central location on the King’s Highway made it a popular location for organized meetings to discuss city and community issues.

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​​This painting by Charles X. Carlson, created in the 20th century, depicts East King Street in the early 1800s looking west toward the city square.

William Pitt - Earl of Chatham Tavern Sign

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In 1836, Jacob Demuth purchased property next to his tobacco shop for his aging mother and to accommodate his 20 children. The Demuth Tobacco Shop first opened on East King Street in 1770 by Jacob’s father Christopher Demuth and Christopher’s father-in-law Robert Hartaffel. This prosperous family business continued for five generations into the late 20th century when ownership of the Tobacco Shop was transferred to the Demuth Foundation.

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The Demuth Family properties, 114 - 120 East King Street, included the Demuth Tobacco Shop and residential properties where the Demuths lived for generations.

A young Charles Demuth, left, sits with his uncle and grandfather in the Demuth Tobacco Shop.

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Charles Demuth’s father, Ferdinand Demuth, inherited 118 E. King Street in 1889 and moved his young family here. The family rented the front room as commercial space and lived in the back rooms and second floor. After Augusta Demuth died in 1943, the home was left to Charles’ friend Robert Locher. Locher and his partner, Richard Weyand, ran an antiques store on the first floor until their deaths in 1956. The Demuth Museum was founded in 1981 to preserve the legacy of Charles Demuth and this historic property.

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These interior photos of the Demuth home were taken during Charles’ lifetime. The house featured Victorian designs until 1917, when Charles and interior designer Robert Locher redecorated in a more modern style.

Richard Weyand and Robert Locher

Coded Compositions

“At the very most, it was an open secret.”- Barbara Haskell, American Art Historian & Curator

While there is no surviving written evidence of a long-term romantic relationship in Demuth’s life, it is understood by scholars that he was gay. During Demuth's lifetime, it was common to destroy such written evidence, and he left few personal correspondences behind. However, Demuth did leave behind many drawings and watercolors that show he participated in the queer community of his time. These works offer the viewer keen insights into a world that only someone with a period eye can provide. 

Heavily coded themes of sailors, bathhouses, vaudeville acts, and underground jazz clubs are portrayed in Demuth’s watercolor compositions of the 1910s. These works were dual in nature and could be understood by his contemporaries as references to queer subculture while also depicting scenes of popular culture. If viewed at all during Demuth’s lifetime, these watercolors would have been understood by those in the LGBTQ+ community while still possessing a level of plausible deniability.

In the early 20th century, being queer carried social and legal penalties. Demuth’s later erotic watercolors of the 1930s were created for private use and were not intended to be exhibited. If shown at all, it would have been to an individual or a small group of close friends. 

Today, Demuth’s works are celebrated by the wider LGBTQ+ community, cementing his place in queer culture and art history.

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“Dandy”

Demuth purposefully manufactured himself as a dandy - a term created in the late 18th century to describe particularly effeminate men who took great care in their appearance - but was often used as code for someone who was gay. Due to his childhood hip infirmity, Demuth relied on the use of a cane that he treated like a fashionable accessory. He is reported to have been an impeccable dresser and specifically wore beautiful neck ties. Pink and red ties in particular were worn by gay men as a way to non-verbally communicate their sexual preferences.

Queer Code

Coded messages such as certain styles of dress, turns of phrases, and mannerisms were developed in queer subcultures as ways to identify one another. These were generally subtle enough to only attract the attention of those who also knew the code. 

The term “cousin” was a common code used to refer to a same-sex partner in the 1920s. In a letter to art critic and friend Henry McBride, who was also understood to be gay, Demuth wrote: 

“…I will have my cousin (as you invented) drive me down…Some time you must come up and see my real cousin, here, --there is one.” 

Georgia O’Keeffe

Although it is unknown exactly when these two artists met, it is clear through correspondence and their work that they were not only close friends, but deeply inspired by one another artistically. Whenever Demuth was in New York City, the pair would get together to visit art exhibits, plays, and the salons of their artist friends. O’Keeffe also visited Lancaster when Demuth was homebound due to illness. While in town, she stayed at the Weber Hotel across the street and shared meals with Demuth and his mother, Augusta.

Demuth and O’Keeffe spent time together painting in Augusta’s sprawling Victorian garden. While they often painted the same subject matter - florals, fruits, and still lifes - the resulting pictures show their distinctive styles. Nevertheless, the two artists found in each other a kindred spirit in their pursuit of creating work that was truly American.

O’Keeffe inherited all of Demuth’s oil paintings after his death, which he left to her in his will. O’Keeffe gifted many of these paintings to the collections of museums and art institutions throughout the United States, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as educational institutions like Fisk University and Yale University. Thanks in part to O’Keeffe’s generosity and her commitment to sharing Demuth’s work, Charles Demuth continues to have a lasting legacy.

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Captions

This photograph, taken on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, documents the close friendship between Demuth and O’Keeffe.

Demuth’s (left) and O’Keeffe’s (right) interpretations of tulips.

“Demuth and I always talked about doing a big picture together, all flowers. I was going to do the tall things up high, he was going to do the little things below.” - Georgia O’Keeffe

Robert E. Locher

Robert Evans Locher (1888-1956) was born and raised in Lancaster and became a highly successful fashion illustrator and interior designer. Bobby, as he was affectionately known, met Charles Demuth in their hometown. Locher lived in Philadelphia and then New York City, where he began designing costumes and sets for various small theater troupes in Greenwich Village. He eventually worked with publications such as Vogue and Vanity Fair. He also designed interiors for New York City’s elite.

In the fall of 1915, Locher married Beatrice Howard Slack. Many believe that this was a marriage of convenience for both of them. Not only did their marriage defer Robert from being drafted into the first World War, but it also aided in concealing one or both partners’ sexual orientation. Around the time of their marriage, Demuth moved into Locher’s vacant studio and apartment at 45 Washington Square in New York City. He remained ever present in the couple’s life and travels, maintaining a close bond for the rest of Demuth’s life.

After Demuth’s death in 1935, Locher inherited all of the artist‘s unsold watercolors and drawings. Demuth’s intention was for Locher to sell works to supplement his income during the lean years of the Great Depression. Locher sold many of these works to collectors in the region, keeping Demuth’s work close to Lancaster. 

The core of the Demuth Museum’s permanent collection is works on paper, many of which were generously donated by members of the local community.

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Robert Locher in Provincetown, MA

Robert Locher in the second floor library of the Demuth home, which is now the museum’s Legacy Gallery.

An American Legacy

While the Demuth Museum holds the largest collection of artworks by Charles Demuth, many museums and other publicly available art collections across the United States also feature his work.

Green indicates states with one or more Demuth artwork(s) in publicly available collections