George Luks – 1867-1933

Luks made his early living in art as a newspaper correspondent-artist and then as a newspaper cartoonist. He earned enough money to finance study in Paris during 1902–1903, where he was not only exposed to modern art, but to the rich life of the city. It was this latter interest that he brought back with him when he returned to New York. With like-minded artists, Luks founded a group called simply The Eight, which soon became associated with a larger movement in American urban realism. The press dubbed it the “Ashcan School,” and Luks was one of the leading practitioners of this distinctly modern, distinctly American style.