George BellowsAmerican, 1882–1925Introducing the Champion, No. 1, Large
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Introducing the Champion, No. 1, Large” now? Collection: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Cleveland, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
Due to the popularity of his early boxing paintings such as Stag at Sharkey’s, Bellows was often commissioned by newspapers and magazines to depict sporting events, both actual and fictional. One of the artist’s first boxing prints, Introducing the Champion was inspired by a drawing he made three years earlier to illustrate a short story in American Magazine, which describes an imagined lightweight champion nicknamed Tornado Black. The cocky gloating of this character, who panders to the crowd, provides the impetus for Bellows’s rendering.
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Details
- Accession number
- 1937.494
In the catalog
Sources
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Image: The Cleveland Museum of Art — Museum open access
In the life of George Bellows
The whole life23 April 1915
Daughter born: Jean Bellows
1916
A lithography press in his studio
He installs a lithography press in his studio and makes a significant contribution to establishing lithography as a fine art in the United States.
1918
The quarrel with Pennell: who may paint a war
The artist Joseph Pennell argues that, since Bellows did not witness the events he painted, he has no right to paint them; Bellows replies that he had not known Leonardo da Vinci “had a ticket to paint the Last Supper”.
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