George Wesley Bellows
New York, 1911 (National Gallery of Art, Washington)
George Wesley Bellows
Men of the Docks, 1912 (Randolph College, Virginia).
George Bellows (1882-1925): Modern American Life ‘George Bellows (1882-1925): Modern American Life’ at the Royal Academy of Arts is the first retrospective of works by American realist painter George Bellows to be held in the UK. 16 March – 9 June 2013.]]>
Source: Royal Academy of Arts, London
When Bellows died at age forty-two, he was considered one of the greatest artists in America. Hisfascination with New York’s gritty urban landscape, its technological marvels and the diversity of itsinhabitants, made him both an artist of the modern city and an insightful observer of the dynamic andchallenging decades of the early 20th century. Most of the works in the exhibition have never beenshown in the UK.
Bellows’ short career encompassed a range of subject matter and the exhibition explores theprinciple themes of his work, featuring boxing fights, cityscapes, views of the Hudson River, socialscenes, seascapes, portraits and the First World War. The exhibition presents 71 works of art: 39paintings, 15 drawings and 17 lithographs, covering Bellows’ career between 1905 and 1925.
In 1904, before graduating from Ohio State University, Bellows left his native Columbus and movedto New York to study art with Robert Henri, one of America’s most important teachers of the periodand leader of the group later known as the Ashcan School. Bellows soon established his reputationas a vigorous, realist painter. Bellows was especially drawn to Manhattan’s Lower East Side, finding subject matter in the chaoticscenes of downtown New York, where immigrants lived within the crowded tenement buildings.
Ann Dumas, Curator at the Royal Academy of Arts, comments, ‘This is the first time that an exhibitionof Bellows’ work has been held in the UK and the Royal Academy is privileged to be able to offer itsaudience the chance to learn more about this powerful and compelling artist.’
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George Bellows retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum (exhibition, 2012)
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