Charles Green Shaw

Charles Green Shaw (1 May 1892—2 April 1974) was an American painter and writer. A significant figure in American abstract art, Shaw enjoyed a varied career as a writer and illustrator, poet, modernist painter, and collector. Born to a wealthy family and orphaned at a young age, Charles and his twin brother were raised by their uncle, Frank D. Shaw. At age nine, he was already an avid painter and had illustrated his first book, The Costumes of Na... more

Charles Green Shaw (1 May 1892—2 April 1974) was an American painter and writer. A significant figure in American abstract art, Shaw enjoyed a varied career as a writer and illustrator, poet, modernist painter, and collector. Born to a wealthy family and orphaned at a young age, Charles and his twin brother were raised by their uncle, Frank D. Shaw. At age nine, he was already an avid painter and had illustrated his first book, The Costumes of Nations. He also wrote and illustrated the children's book, It Looked Like Spilt Milk, published in 1947. Shaw graduated from Yale in 1914, where he was a member of the Delta Psi Fraternity, and completed a year of architectural studies at Columbia University. He worked as a freelance writer for The New Yorker, The Smart Set, and Vanity Fair, where his focus was the 1920s theater and café society. In 1927, Shaw enrolled in Thomas Hart Benton's class at the Art Students League of New York. He also studied privately with George Luks. As a founding... less