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The “Flying Pencil Point” of George B. Luks

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George B. Luks - Figure Study, Paris

George B. Luks (1867-1933), "Figure Study, Paris," 1900-10, charcoal and graphite on paper, 6 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches

Carol Lowrey

According to his friend and fellow artist Everett Shinn, George B. Luks (1867-1933) drew incessantly.  If his sketchbook wasn’t handy, he would draw on all types of surfaces, whether it be a scrap of paper, a tablecloth, or a napkin; as Shinn put it, he “chuckled as he worked, winked and drew an audience about his flying pencil point.”  Spanierman Gallery’s recent exhibition of works on paper includes two examples of Luks’s drawings––which attracted as much attention as the vigorously rendered oils that contributed to his reputation as a leading member of New York’s Ashcan School and an important American Realist.

An artist who loved to draw, Luks began sketching as a young boy and he continued to do so as a teenager, making drawings of the customers who patronized the drugstore where he worked.  Later, as an artist-reporter in Philadelphia, he did rapid, on-the-spot sketches of people and events, using only a few improvisatory strokes of his pencil or pen; it was said that he could produce a caricature of a person in a flash, often using both hands!  After moving to New York in 1896, Luks continued to make a name for himself as a draftsman, doing illustrations and comic strips for magazines and newspapers such as Vanity Fair, the New Yorker and the New York World.  Needless to say, Luks found the experience invaluable; in 1933, he told a writer for the New York Times that “making commercial drawings, and especially newspaper work, gives an artist unlimited experience, teaches him life, brings him out.”  Luks also created drawings as independent works of art and as preliminary studies for his paintings, producing intimate vignettes that reflect his humanist outlook and his well-honed powers of observation.

George B. Luks - Girl Playing, Luxemborg Gardens

George B. Luks (1867-1933), "Girl Playing, Luxemborg Gardens," 1900-10, charcoal and graphite on paper, 6-1/2 x 4-1/4 inches

In keeping with the philosophy of the Ashcan School, George Luks focused on ordinary, working-class people going about their daily lives, imbuing his figures with a sense of vitality and energy that reflected his outgoing personality and his obvious affection for his subjects.  His penchant for recording his impressions of urban street types is readily apparent in the drawings he did on trips to the French capital, where he took great delight in the colorful characters he encountered in the streets and parks.  It’s easy to imagine Luks ensconced on a bench or seated at a café table with his sketchbook in hand, creating works such as Figure Study, Paris, an excellent example of his cursory technique and the way he would use slashing strokes and gestural contours to capture the diverse poses and personalities of the participants.  Even the little dog––caught in mid-stride––has a lively animation that is uniquely its own.  While visiting the City of Light Luks also produced this delightful impression of a girl playing in the Luxembourg Gardens, capturing her maidenly spirit and charm in a style that is spontaneous and direct––the product of a master draftsman who handled his crayon and pencil with skill and confidence.  Both drawings convey a vivid sense of the fleeting moment––in addition to evoking the look and spirit of the denizens of Paris during the Belle Époque.

References: “Everett Shinn on George Luks: An Unpublished Memoir,” Archives of American Art Journal (April 1966); New York Times, 30 October 1933.


Tagged: American Realism, Ashcan School, George B. Luks, Luxembourg Gardens, New York, Paris

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