An expansive survey of works by the American realist artist, George Bellows, will open November 15 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The exhibition features 120 works including the paintings of boxing matches and gritty New York tenements that Bellows is best known for. The artist also painted cityscapes, seascapes, war scenes, portraits, and made illustrations and lithographs over the course of a varied career that was cut short when Bellows passed away at 42.
Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, Bellows moved to New York City in 1904 to study with the influential artist and teacher, Robert Henri, and soon became the youngest member of the Ashcan School. Dedicated to chronicling the realities of day-to-day life, Bellows made a name as the boldest of the Ashcan artists. The Met acquired Bellows’ Up the Hudson (1808), the institution’s first Ashcan painting, in 1911.
Organized by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. in association with the Met and London’s Royal Academy of Art, the retrospective is the most comprehensive presentation of Bellows work in nearly fifty years. The exhibition will be on view through February 18, 2013.
