Demuth's I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold translated a William Carlos Williams poem into flat geometric planes, anticipating Pop Art by three decades. The painting's fusion of text, number and image made it one of the most forward-looking American paintings of the 1920s.
Key facts
- Lived
- 1883–1935, American
- Works held in
- 12 museums
Biography
He was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1883 and studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts before visiting Paris, where Cubism shaped his approach. He became a leading figure in Precisionism, the American movement that applied Cubist structure to industrial subjects. His watercolours of flowers, fruit and theatrical performers are among the finest in the medium, while his tempera paintings of factories and grain elevators gave Lancaster's industrial landscape a geometric grandeur.
He managed diabetes throughout his adult life, and the disease restricted his productivity and eventually killed him. He died in Lancaster in 1935, aged fifty-one, having never moved far from the town whose buildings he had turned into Cubist architecture.
Timeline
- 1883Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. A childhood hip illness (Perthes disease) from age five left him with a lifelong limp and drew him towards art during long periods of convalescence.
- 1905Enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts at 22, where he studied under Thomas Anshutz and William Merritt Chase over the following six years.
- 1912Made his first extended trip to Paris at 29, encountering Cubism and the European avant-garde. He formed lasting friendships with Marcel Duchamp and Marsden Hartley during this period.
- 1915Established himself as a major American artist at 32 through watercolour landscapes, flower studies, and small-scale paintings of cabaret and circus performers in New York.
- 1919Began his celebrated architectural paintings at 36, depicting the industrial buildings and churches of his native Lancaster in a style that would come to define American Precisionism.
- 1928Painted "I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold" at 45 in New York, a tribute to poet William Carlos Williams that became one of the most recognised works of American modernism.
- 1935Died in Lancaster at 51 from complications of diabetes, which had severely drained his energy since the early 1920s. His will left many paintings to Georgia O'Keeffe, whose strategic gifts to museums cemented his legacy.
Notable Works
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Related Artists
Frequently Asked Questions
Charles demuth art movement?
Charles Demuth was a leading figure in Precisionism. This was an American art movement that applied Cubist structure to industrial subjects.How did charles demuth die?
Charles Demuth died in 1935 at the age of 52.Where did charles demuth live?
Charles Demuth was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and he never moved far from there. He turned the town's buildings into Cubist architecture.Where was charles demuth born?
Charles Demuth was born in 1883 in United States. Charles Demuth died in 1935, aged 52.Why is charles demuth considered a precisionist?
Charles Demuth is considered a Precisionist because he incorporated Cubist spatial discontinuities into his work. He focused much of his art on industrial sites near his hometown of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.What medium did charles demuth use?
Charles Demuth used watercolours, tempera, and ink. His watercolours of flowers, fruit, and theatrical performers are considered some of the finest in the medium, and he used tempera to paint factories and grain elevators.
Sources
Editorial draws on the following primary and tertiary references for Charles Demuth.
- [1] wikidata Wikidata: Q380494 Used for: identifiers.
- [2] book Typesetter01, 3638_W_Kleiner.FM_V2.qxd Used for: biography.
- [3] book Carol Strickland and John Boswell, The Annotated Mona Lisa _ba crash course in art history from prehistoric to post-modern _cCarol Strickland and John Boswell_1 Used for: biography.
Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-05-17. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.
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