George Benjamin Luks
Illustrator, painter, cartoonist, lecturer, teacher; born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Recent scholarship shows 1866 as his birth date rather than 1867, as has been previously accepted. Studied at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, in Dusseldorf, Berlin, Munich, London, and Paris. Worked on the staff of the Philadelphia Press, the Philadelphia Bulletin, and the New York World newspapers. Created the comic strips Hogan's Alley, and The Yellow Kid. Was an outspoken member of "The Eight" who exhibited at Macbeth Gallery, NYC, 1908. Taught at Art Students League, was influential not for his methods, but for his strong personality. Known as a hard drinker, his works were imbued with gusto as he captured slum life in NYC.