Charles Sheeler (July 16, 1883 – May 7, 1965) is recognized as one of the founders of American modernism and one of the master photographers of the 20th century.
Born in Philadelphia, he attended the Pennsylvania Museum School of Industrial Art, now the University of the Arts (Philadelphia), from 1900-1903, and then the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied under William Merritt Chase. He found early success as a painter and exhibit...
more
Charles Sheeler (July 16, 1883 – May 7, 1965) is recognized as one of the founders of American modernism and one of the master photographers of the 20th century.
Born in Philadelphia, he attended the Pennsylvania Museum School of Industrial Art, now the University of the Arts (Philadelphia), from 1900-1903, and then the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied under William Merritt Chase. He found early success as a painter and exhibited at the Macbeth Gallery in 1908. In 1909, he went to Paris, just when the popularity of Cubism was skyrocketing. Returning to the United States, he realized that he would not be able to make a living with Modernist painting. Instead, he took up commercial photography, focusing particularly on architectural subjects. He was a self-taught photographer, learning his trade on a five dollar Brownie.
Sheeler owned a farmhouse in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, about 39 miles outside of Philadelphia. He shared it with artist Morton Schamberg. He was so...
less