The White Hope

1921 · Print

May one see it?

Not receiving at present

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.

Checked: 2 days ago
In this state since: Aug 19, 2026
Source: The museum's own collection data

On the map Museum page

About the work

After Jack Johnson became the first African American world heavyweight champion in 1908, a series of boxing promoters searched for a “Great White Hope” who could dethrone him. Analyzing the facial features of the two fighters in this print, some scholars believe its subject commemorates Johnson’s victory over former champion James J. Jeffries in 1910. The outcome of this proclaimed “fight of the century” sparked racially motivated riots in more than 50 cities across 25 states, leaving 20 people dead. Whether or not The White Hope can be associated with a specific bout, Bellows’s image undercuts notions of white racial superiority with bitter irony.

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Particulars

Accession number: 1936.644

In the catalog

Prints Lithograph Modernism 20th century America

Sources

The Cleveland Museum of Art: the museum's own open data · fetched 8 days ago
Image: The Cleveland Museum of Art — Museum open access

Meanwhile, in the life of George Bellows

The whole life

1919
Teaches at the Art Institute of Chicago
In 1919 he teaches at the Art Institute of Chicago.
1920
Builds a house in Woodstock
From 1920 he spends nearly half of each year in Woodstock, New York, where he builds a home for his family.
1920
“Men of the Docks” bought for the Maier Museum
Students and locals raise $2,500 to buy “Men of the Docks” for the Maier Museum of Art, the first masterpiece in its collection (now at Randolph College).

All works