George Benjamin Luks

"George Luks (1867-1933) was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and in Dusseldorf, Paris and London (between 1885-95). In 1896 he worked as a staff artist for the Evening Bulletin in Philadelphia.
It was in Philadelphia that he met a group of fellow artists called ""The Eight."" He moved to New York City and his work was shown with other members of ""The Eight"" in the Macbeth Gallery (including Robert Henri). While in New York, Luks created a comic strip called ""The Yellow Kid"" that was published in the ""New York World."" He taught at the Art Students League, and was known as much for his strong personality (and heavy drinking) as his teaching methods.
In his paintings, Luks depicted themes from the ghetto and urban slum life, as well as rural scenes. It has been said that he was able to depict poor people well, perhaps because he could empathize with their situations. In the 1920s he made several paintings of Pennsylvania coal miners. His work was featured in 200 major exhibitions during his lifetime and received a number of awards and honors. Luks' work is in numerous permanent collections including the Phoenix Art Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, the High Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He died on October 29, 1933."
[Source: unknown and currently being researched]