He later studied at Académie Colarossi and Académie Julian in Paris, where he became a part of the avant garde art scene. The Parisian artistic community was accepting of Demuth's homosexuality.
Career
While he was in Paris he met Marsden Hartley by walking up to a table of American artists and asking if he could join them. He had a great sense of humor, rich in double entendres and they asked him to be a regular member of their group. Through Hartley he met Alfred Stieglitz and became a member of the Stieglitz group. In 1926, he had a one-man show at a New York gallery run by his friend Alfred Stieglitz.
His most famous painting, The Figure 5 in Gold (also sometimes called I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold), was inspired by his friend William Carlos Williams's poem The Great Figure. This is one of nine poster portraits Demuth created to honor his creative friends. He painted poster portraits for artists Georgia O'Keeffe, Arthur Dove, Charles Duncan, Marsden Hartley, John Marin and for the writers Gertrude Stein, Eugene O'Neill, Wallace Stevens and Williams.
Personal life
Demuth suffered either an injury when he was four years old or may have had polio or tuberculosis of the hip that left him with a marked limp and required him to use a cane. He later developed diabetes and was one of the first people in the United States to receive insulin. He spent most of his life in frail health, and he died in Lancaster at age 51 of complications from diabetes.
Charles used the Lafayette Baths as his favorite haunt. His 1918 homoerotic self portrait set in a Turkish Bathhouse is likely to be set there.
From Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Demuth
Text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License
| Friend of Georgia O'Keeffe, Arthur Dove and Marsden Hartley
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