Painter of boxing matches: Who is George Wesley Bellows?

(1882-1952) American painter. He was born in Columbus, Ohio. After attending Ohio State University for a while, he went to New York to study art in 1904. He learned to paint by working with various artists. He opened his own workshop in 1906. He won the first prize in the competition held by the National Academy of Design with his first landscape painting. At the age of twenty-seven, he was elected a member of the National Academy, becoming the youngest member in the history of this institution. He taught painting at art schools such as the Art Students League, Ferrer School, and the Art Institute of Chicago. He died in New York.

Bellows' early works are realistic and in line with the understanding of the Ash-Can School, of which he is a member. He was interested in covering sports matches and especially boxing matches. He drew these subjects mostly in an amusing or cynical air. For example, in his famous work Stag at Sharkey's, which is about a boxing match, he reflected the reactions of the referee and male spectators in an atmosphere of great pleasure, along with the boxers who experienced the most dramatic moment of the match with their energetic movements. But this air of enjoyment, or the expressive tendency, which was especially emphasized, did not rise above plastic concerns.

After seeing the Armory Show, which opened in 1913, Bellows moved away from the Ash-Can School's understanding of painting. There has been a great change in his style with the effect of this exhibition. His interest in symmetry and his use of ordinary colors brought a more balanced and calm painting approach to his portraits, but equally devoid of excitement. Bellows turned to the lithography technique after 1916 and produced more than 200 lithographs until his death. Dempsey and Firpo are one of the most famous of them. Bellows, who focused on portrait paintings in the last years of his life, was considered one of the leading painters of his time in this field.

------------------------------------------------

https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.940.html

https://www.georgewesleybellows.org/