Du Bois, Guy Pene << dyoo BWAH, gee pehn >> (1884-1958), was an American painter and art critic. Du Bois’s early paintings were dark, loosely brushed but realistic impressions of modern city life. During the 1920’s and 1930’s, he produced his best-known paintings. These pictures realistically and often satirically portrayed stylish women and stout, self-confident businessmen relaxing in art galleries, nightclubs, restaurants, and theaters. Du Bois used sharp, bright colors and made his figures sleek, stiff, and sculptural.
Du Bois was born on Jan. 4, 1884, in New York City. For much of the period from 1913 to 1922, he edited a magazine called Arts and Decoration. Du Bois wrote many essays supporting American art and defending the values of realism and social observation in painting. He died on July 18, 1958.
