George Wesley Bellows

A native of Columbus, Ohio, George Bellows attended Ohio State University for three years before moving in 1904 to New York. There, he received art instruction from Robert Henri and during the next few years created several memorable images of New York City life. His paintings portrayed not only the pleasantries of the parks and rivers but also the seedier aspects of the city. Bellows is perhaps best known for his powerful depictions of the boxing ring. His Club Night (1907; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.), Both Members of This Club (1909; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.), and Stag at Sharkey's (1909; Cleveland Museum of Art) remain some of the most familiar icons of twentieth-century American art.

After his marriage to Emma Story in 1910, Bellows devoted much of his time to family life. From 1911 to 1919 he spent almost every summer in Maine and did some of his best painting during these vacations. From 1920 until his death in 1925, he and his family summered in Woodstock, New York. His art often reflected his surroundings.

Beginning in 1916 Bellows turned to lithography as a steady source of income. He produced most of his lithographs during the winter months, when he spent more time indoors. Between 1916 and 1925 he completed almost two hundred lithographs. The artist singlehandedly ressurrected the medium, which had earlier been associated with commercial printing, as a serious form of artistic expression.

Before Bellows's untimely death from peritonitis at the age of forty-two, he had embarked on a serious examination of portraiture. His late portraits were of great popular acclaim and demanded the highest prices in his career, but they have become overshadowed by the fame of his earlier accomplishments.