George Luks was born on August 13, 1867 in a coal mining region of Pennsylvania. He knew poverty as he grew up in this setting, and his first exposure to art was from his mother, who was a musician and loved to paint. His childhood greatly influenced him later after he had learned to paint. His passion was depicting working class Americans and emphasizing the joys to be found even from the most difficult of situations. Shown below is “Houston Street.”
