American painter George Benjamin Luks (1867-1933) was a pioneer realist, a member of "The Eight," and a vigorous opponent of academic and conservative standards in subject matter.

George Luks was born in Williamsport, Pa., on Aug. 13, 1867. About 1884 he entered the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts but soon made his way to Europe, where he remained for several years. His chronology and many details of his life remain obscure because of the extravagant claims he made about exploits which seem to have been wholly fictitious. At Düsseldorf he acquired a taste for somber colors. He may have worked in London and Paris as well. He admired Rembrandt and Frans Hals.

On his return to Philadelphia in the early 1890s, Luks supported himself precariously by all kinds of commercial jobs--by painting signs, circus and band wagons, campaign portraits, and houses and floors. Frequent references to activities as a...