By George Wesley Bellows
Located in New York, NY
George Bellows
Business-Men's Class, Y.M.C.A, 1916
Signed, numbered "No. 41" and titled lower margin
Lithograph on wove paper
11 1/2 x 17 1/8 inches
Edition of 64
Provenance:
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York
Private Collection, Ohio
Literature:
Mason, 20.
After his arrival from Columbus, Ohio in 1904, Bellows lived at the West Side YMCA. It was there that he met Eugene Speicher, another aspiring young artist who was to become his lifelong friend. Always interested in the anatomy of the human body, Bellows often satirized the various types who, while leading a sedentary life, feel compelled to devote a portion of their daily routine to physical self-improvement.
Throughout his brief but illustrious career, George Wesley Bellows created striking scenes that documented ordinary American life in all its beauty and banality. Considered an American Realist, the artist eschewed embellishment, finding inspiration in the gritty boroughs of New York City, the rocky coastline of Maine, and, later, in his friends and family. Bellows garnered early recognition for his arresting portrayals of illegal prizefighting, dramatic works executed in dark tonal palettes that underscore the brutality of the violent sport.
Bellows’ elderly Methodist parents hoped their son might pursue the ministry, a calling the extroverted athlete never received. The Columbus native competed on the baseball team at Ohio State University and also served as an illustrator for the college yearbook. In the fall of 1904—just months shy of his expected graduation—Bellows defied his father’s wishes and boarded a train to New York City in hopes of becoming a magazine illustrator like his idols Howard Chandler Christy and Charles Dana Gibson. Before leaving, he reportedly turned down an offer to play professional baseball with the Cincinnati Reds...
Category
1910s Ashcan School Gamy Art
MaterialsPaper, Lithograph
