Bellows, George Wesley

Bellows, George Wesley
born Aug. 12, 1882, Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
died Jan. 8, 1925, New York, N.Y.

U.S. painter and lithographer.

He studied with Robert Henri at the New York School of Art and became associated with the artists of the Ash Can school. Best known for his boxing scenes, he achieved notoriety with his painting Stag at Sharkey's (1909), which depicts an illegal boxing match. He was one of the organizers of the Armory Show. From 1916 until his death he produced a series of some 200 lithographs, including the well-known Dempsey and Firpo (1924).

Stag at Sharkey's, oil on canvas by George Bellows, 1909; in the ...

Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio, Hinman B. Hurlbut Collection

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▪ American painter
born Aug. 12, 1882, Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
died Jan. 8, 1925, New York, N.Y.

      American painter and lithographer noted for his paintings of action scenes and for his expressive portraits and seascapes.

 Bellows attended Ohio State University before moving in 1904 to New York City, where he studied at the New York School of Art under Robert Henri (Henri, Robert), leader of the group of American realist painters called The Eight (Eight, The). Bellows's early works show the influence of Henri in their dark, tonal palette, vigorous brushwork, and urban subject matter; typical of this period is Forty-Two Kids (1907), a painting of slum children swimming and diving in the East River. Bellows's dramatic, evocative paintings of prizefights, such as Stag at Sharkey's and Both Members of This Club (both 1909), date from this period as well; they remain among his most famous works.

      In 1909 Bellows was elected an associate member of the National Academy of Design; he gained full membership in 1913. From 1910 he taught at the Art Students League in New York. Between 1912 and 1917 he contributed illustrations to the socialist magazine The Masses.

      Bellows was one of the organizers of the Armory Show of 1913, which introduced European modernist art to American artists and critics. The show had a marked influence on Bellows, and he supported many of the avant-garde art organizations then being established, including the Society of Independent Artists, of which he was a founding director. Although he remained a realist painter, his later works reveal an intensified interest in theory. He began to use a greater range of colour and to experiment with various compositional systems. The subject matter of his work also changed: many of the best works from this later period are intimate portraits of friends and family members, including My Mother (1921). He also turned increasingly to painting seascapes—notably at Monhegan Island, Maine—and rural landscapes.

      From 1916 Bellows experimented with lithography, producing nearly 200 prints. Among the best known is Dempsey and Firpo (1924; he also produced a painting with this title), a boxing scene that displays the solid modeling of form and geometric approach to design characteristic of Bellows's later paintings.

Additional Reading
Marianne Doezema, George Bellows and Urban America (1992); Michael Quick et al., The Paintings of George Bellows (1992).

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  • Bellows, George Wesley — (12 ago. 1882, Columbus, Ohio, EE.UU.–8 ene. 1925, Nueva York, N.Y.). Pintor y litógrafo estadounidense. Estudió con Robert Henri en el New York School of Art y se asoció a los artistas de la escuela Ash Can. Conocido principalmente por sus… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Bellows,George Wesley — Bel·lows (bĕlʹōz), George Wesley. 1882 1925. American artist noted for his energetic paintings of sporting scenes, such as Stag at Sharkey s (1907). * * * …   Universalium

  • George Wesley Bellows — George Bellows George Bellows. Nombre de nacimiento George Wesley Bellows Nacimiento 12 o 19 de agosto de 1882 …   Wikipedia Español

  • George Wesley Bellows — (* 12. August 1882 in Columbus, Ohio; † 8. Januar 1925 in New York City) war ein amerikanischer Maler, Zeichner und Lithograf, der vor allem durch seine Bilder des Großstadtlebens in New York bekannt wurde. Durch seine Motivwahl wurde er der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • George Wesley Bellows — Pour les articles homonymes, voir George, Wesley et Bellows. Autoportrait, 1921. George Wesley Bellows, né à Colombus ( …   Wikipédia en Français

  • George Bellows — George Wesley Bellows George Wesley Bellows (* 12. August 1882 in Columbus, Ohio; † 8. Januar 1925 in New York City) war ein amerikanischer Maler, Zeichner und Lithograph, der vor allem durch seine Bilder des Großstadtlebens in New York bekannt… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Wesley — Wesley, John * * * (as used in expressions) Bellows, George Wesley Dean, John Wesley, III Hamming, Richard Wesley Mitchell, Wesley C(lair) Powell, John Wesley Rickey, Branch (Wesley) Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Wesley, John …   Enciclopedia Universal

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  • Wesley — /wes lee, wez /, n. 1. Charles, 1707 88, English evangelist and hymnist. 2. his brother John, 1703 91, English theologian and evangelist: founder of Methodism. 3. a male given name. * * * (as used in expressions) Bellows George Wesley Dean John… …   Universalium

  • George — /jawrj/, n. 1. a figure of St. George killing the dragon, esp. one forming part of the insignia of the Order of the Garter. 2. Brit. Slang. any coin bearing the image of St. George. 3. a word formerly used in communications to represent the… …   Universalium

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