Charles Green Shaw

Shaw was born in New York City to Eva (née Morris) and Charles Green Shaw, a merchant. He grew up spending summers in Newport, Rhode Island and Christmas at Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt's balls. He studied architecture at Columbia University from 1914 to 1915. Shaw was a Lieutenant in World War I, first receiving an assignment as a supply officer stationed in England. Then, he was assigned to the Army Air Force at Kelly Airfield in Texas. Over the course of eighteen months in the service, he never saw active duty. After the war, Shaw tried to follow the business model set by his family, and soon found he was ill-suited for selling real estate in New York City. == Writer ==

Shaw started his career as a writer by the early 1920s. Shaw was, according to Buck Pennington, "the master of the bon mot, the glib remark, the clever definition." In May 1939, he finally found an editor interested in his ideas—Margaret Wise Brown, who would go on to write the children's classic Goodnight Moon. Shaw published dozens of books for children, including It Looked Like Spilt Milk in 1947. He also illustrated books for Brown. In 1952 when he was 62 years old, Shaw started writing poetry and had some 1,200 poems published in Literary Review, the New York Tribune, Poetry Digest, and Trace. He also released four poetry collections. == Art ==

As an artist, Shaw was "essentially self-taught." In 1927, he enrolled in Thomas Hart Benton's class at the Art Students League of New York. This group was established when abstract art had not fully won critical respect, and many such artists struggled to find galleries willing to display their work. In the 1940s and moving forward, Shaw shifted from the strict geometrical format of the polygon paintings, focusing on abstract expressionism. He softened the color palette for some of his paintings. He also explored another medium, making montages by mountings antique items related to games on fabric, such as game boards and antique playing and tarot cards. In addition, he designed posters, book covers, and illustrated picture books. A significant figure in American abstract art, Shaw was the only American artist to have two solo exhibitions at Guggenheim Museum in his lifetime. In total, he had thirty one-man shows in galleries, museums and traveling exhibitions in America, Europe, and Japan. == Affiliations ==

Shaw was a member of American Abstract Artists, the Artists Equity Association (now called the New York Artists Equity Association), the Century Association, the Federation of Modern Painters & Sculptors, the Nantucket Art Association (now called the Artists Association of Nantucket), the Newport Art Association, the Poetry Society of America, and The Poetry Society. == Awards ==

Shaw won the Michael Strange Poetry Award in 1954. The Nantucket Art Association gave Shaw the Nantucket Art Association Award in 1958, and first prize in 1960. == Personal ==

Shaw was a noted collector of tobacciana. When he was 81 years old, Shaw died at his home at 340 East 57th Street in New York City on April 2, 1974 He bequeathed fifty boxes of archival materials to the Smithsonian's American Art Museum. His papers include correspondence with F. Scott Fitzgerald, Clarence Darrow, Anita Loos, H. L. Mencken, and Cole Porter. == Publications ==

Books • Shaw, Charles G. (1927). Heart in a Hurricane. Illustrations by Ralph Barton New York: Brenton's. • — (1930) Nightlife, Day. New York: Day • — (1930) The Low-Down. New York: Henry Holt. • — (1931) Lady by Chance. New York: Macaulay. • — (1938) New York—Oddly Enough. New York: Farrar, Rinehart • — (1940). The Giant of Central Park. New York: William R. Scott Children's books • — (1941) The Guess Book. New York: William R. Scott, Inc. • — (1942) The Blue Guess Book (and illustrator) New York: William R. Scott • — (1947) It Looked Like Spilt Milk. New York: Harper. Poetry collections • — (1959) Into the Light, Fine Editions • — (1962) Image of Life. Poets of America Publishing Co. • — (1966) Time Has No Edge: A Poetry Collection. William-Frederick • — (1969) Moment of the Now: A Poetry Collection. Profile Press Essays and reporting • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Illustrator • Brown, Margaret Wise (1944) Black and White. Illustrations by Charles G. Shaw. New York: Harper & Brothers. • — (1947) Winter Noisy Book. Illustrations by Charles G. Shaw. New York: W. R. Scott. • Felton, Harold W. (1971) James Weldon Johnson. Illustrations by Charles G. Shaw. New York: Dodd. • McCullough, John G. (1947) Dark is Dark. Illustrations by Charles G. Shaw. New York: W. R. Scott. • Pedersen, Elsa (1968) House Upon a Rock. Illustrations by Charles G. Shaw. New York: Atheneum • Scott, William Rufus (1951) The Apple that Jack Ate. Illustrations by Charles G. Shaw. New York: W. R. Scott. • — (1944) This Is The Milk That Jack Drank. Illustrations by Charles G. Shaw. New York: W. R. Scott. • — (1950) This Is the Water That Jack Drank. Illustrations by Charles G. Shaw. New York: W. R. Scott. Exhibition catalogs • ==References==