Chambers, Robert W. (Robert William), 1865-1933

Artist and illustrator; author of romance fiction and military articles and sketches.

Popular New York romance and historical fiction writer; most productive period between 1890 and 1930.

Novelist and artist.

American author and artist.

Chambers was an American novelist, short-story writer, and illustrator.

Robert W. Chambers was born in Brooklyn, and trained as an artist in Paris. While working as an illustrator for Life, Truth, and Vogue magazines, he found success as a writer, and abandoned art for literature. He became a prolific and exceedingly popular author of forgettable historical romances, but his lasting literary legacy remains the supernatural stories from his second book, The King in Yellow. These imaginative, haunting stories represent a keystone in the development of the Gothic short story, and influenced such writers as H.P. Lovecraft.

Robert W. Chambers was a novelist and illustrator. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y. on May 26, 1865, he was the elder son of William and Caroline Boughton Chambers. He attended the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institue, where he showed an aptitude for painting. He then studied at the Students' Art League and while there was befriended by Charles Dana Gibson. Chambers traveled to Paris in 1886, studied art at Julian's Academy, and exhibited his work at the Salon in 1889. In 1893, he returned to the United States and set up a studio in New York City. Chambers soon became known for his illustrations in Life, Vogue, and other magazines. By 1894, he began writing stories in the evening. Finding that he could work better in the country, Chambers moved to Fulton County, N.Y., where his grandfather had established the family estate. In 1898, he married Elsa Vaughn Moller; theyraised one son. Chambers produced novels and short stories in rapid succession. By the time of his death, he was credited with 72 books, numerous short stories, serials, a drama, and two librettos for operas. Chambers also collected furniture, Chinese and Japanese antiques, and butterflies.

Robert William Chambers was born in Brooklyn, New York on May 26, 1865 to William and Caroline (Boughton) Chambers. Chambers attended the Art Students' League in New York, as well as the École des Beaux-Arts and the Académie Julien in Paris, France. In 1898, he married Elsa Vaughn Moller, with whom he had one son.

Chambers is known as being an author and novelist, as well as an illustrator for publications such as for Life, Truth, and Vogue magazines. Perhaps his best known work is his 1895 collection, The King in Yellow . Chambers is remembered for his supernatural horror fiction and his best-selling romance novels of the early 20th century.