biographie de George Wesley BELLOWS (1882-1925)

Birth place: Columbus, OH

Death place: NYC

Addresses: NYC; Woodstock, NY (summers, 1920-25)

Profession: Painter, lithographer

Studied: Ohio State Univ. with Silas Martin; William M. Chase and R. Henri at NY Sch. Art, 1904; Henri Sch. Art, NYC; Maratta; Jay Hambidge

Exhibited: NAD, 1907-18 (medals in 1908, 1913, 1914, 1916); Corcoran Gal., 1910-23, 1957 (med., 1923); PAFA, 1907-25 (med., 1917; Beck gold med., 1921); Newport AA, 1912, 1918 (prize); Armory Show, NYC, 1913; CI, Pittsburgh, 1913 (prize), 1914 (med.), 1922 (prize); Pan.-Pac. Expo., San Fran., 1915 (gold); AIC, 1916 (med., prize), 1921 (med.); NAC, 1922 (prize); MMA, 1925 (memorial); S.Indp.A.; WMMA, Amon Carter Mus., and LACMA, travelling exh., 1992

Member: ANA, 1909; NA, 1913; Am. PS; NAC; S.Indp.A.; Los Angeles Modern AS; NIAL; Boston AC; New SA; Lg. AA; Woodstock Artists Assoc.

Work: MMA; PAFA; Columbus (Ohio) AA; TMA; Nat. Art Club, NY; Ohio State Univ.; RISD; AIC; Detroit Inst.; CI; St. Louis Mus.; Albright Gal.; Woodstock Artists Assoc.

Comments: He was the youngest artist in the history of the NAD to be elected an associate and academician. A realist painter who worked in a bold, gestural style, he is noted for his dynamic interpretation of urban life. Although associated with the members of "The Eight," he did not actually exhibit with them in 1908. From 1912-17 he was an illustrator for The Masses. In 1916 he turned to lithography, and during World War I produced a series of works about wartime atrocities. After 1918 his paintings show the influence of Jay Hambidge's geometrical theories. In addition to his urban themes, he also painted landscapes and portraits throughout his career. Bellows was one of the organizers of the 1913 Armory Show and was an influential teacher at the ASL. Bellows joined his teacher Robert Henri on Monhegan Island in 1911. Of the island he said "It's possessed of enough beauty to supply a continent." He died of appendicitis at the peak of his career.

Sources: WW24; Woodstock's Art Heritage, 54-55; Baigell, Dictionary; Curtis, Curtis, and Lieberman, 71, 180; Rbt. Workman, The Eden of America (RISD, 1986, p.81); Jane Myers and Linda Ayres, George Bellows: The Artist and His Lithographs, 1916-1924 (Ft. Worth, Texas: Amon Carter Mus., 1988); The Paintings of George Bellows, (exh. cat., with essays by Michael Quick, Frank Kelly, Maryann Doezema, 1992); Maryann Doezema, George Bellows and Urban America, 1997; addit. info. courtesy Woodstock Artists Assoc.

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