George BellowsVerenigde Staten, 1882–1925Stag at Sharkey's
Over het schilderij
Stag at Sharkey's is a 1909 oil painting by the American artist George Wesley Bellows depicting two boxers fighting in the private athletic club situated across from his studio. It is part of the Ashcan School movement known in particular for depicting scenes of daily life in early twentieth century New York City, often in the city's poorer neighborhoods. Participants in the boxing ring were usually members of the club, but occasionally outsiders would fight with temporary memberships. These fighters were known as "stags".
In de woorden van het museum
Bellows was no stranger to Sharkey’s Athletic Club, a raucous saloon with a backroom boxing ring, located near his studio. Founded by Tom “Sailor” Sharkey, an ex-fighter who had also served in the US Navy, the club attracted men seeking to watch or participate in matches. Because public boxing was illegal in New York at the time, a private event had to be arranged in order for a bout to take place. Participation was usually limited to members of a particular club, but whenever an outsider competed, he was given temporary membership and known as a “stag.” Although boxing had its share of detractors who considered it uncouth at best or barbaric at worst, its proponents—among them President Theodore Roosevelt—regarded it a healthy manifestation of manliness. Around the time Bellows painted Stag at Sharkey’s, boxing was moving from a predominantly working-class enterprise to one with greater genteel appeal. For some contemporaries, boxing was a powerful analogy for the notion that only the strongest and fittest would flourish in modern society.
Cleveland Museum of Art
Gegevens
- Inventarisnummer
- 1922.1133
Intussen, in het leven van George Bellows
Het hele leven1908
Exhibition of Henri’s pupils: first wide notice
Together with other pupils of Henri he organizes an exhibition of mostly urban studies: many critics find them crudely painted, others welcome their audacity as a step beyond the work of his teacher; it brings him his first widespread notice. Other accounts say the exhibition was organized by Henri himself.
1909 · Onderscheiding
the National Academy of Design
A year after his first success he becomes a member of the National Academy of Design.
1909
Teaches at the Art Students League
He teaches at the Art Students League of New York, although he is far more interested in pursuing a career as a painter. Other accounts say his teaching at the League began in 1910.
1910
Marries Emma Story
He marries Emma Story; she and their future daughters Anne and Jean will become the beloved subjects of his later paintings of domestic life.
1911
Daughter born: Anne Bellows Kearney
1911
Drawings for the magazine “The Masses”
From 1911 he contributes many drawings and prints to the socialist journal The Masses and sits on its editorial board, but he is often at odds with other contributors, believing that artistic freedom should trump any ideological editorial policy.
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