George Bellows Original Antique New York City Ashcan School of American Realism Modern Art Nocturnal Seascape Oil Painting
Original antique nocturnal seascape, (oil on paper, laid onto cardboard), by New York Ashcan, early American realist artist, George Bellows, (1882-1925). The oil painting is in excellent original condition, signed lower left, and is in a newer vintage frame. The oil painting measures approximately 7.8"X10, plus frame.
George Bellows, a prominent American artist, was revered as one of the country's finest. Initially gaining recognition for his powerful portrayals of boxing matches and gritty scenes depicting New York City's tenement life, Bellows also ventured into painting cityscapes, seascapes, war scenes, and portraits, and creating illustrations and lithographs that addressed prevailing social, political, and cultural concerns of his time.
Bellows was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, and attended Ohio State University, where his athletic prowess hinted at a potential career in professional sports, while his illustrations for the student yearbook foreshadowed his path as an artist. In 1904, he left college and relocated to New York to study under the tutelage of Robert Henri, becoming the leading young member of the Ashcan School, a group of artists dedicated to portraying the realities of everyday life. However, Bellows stood out among his peers due to his fearlessness, versatility in selecting subjects, palettes, and techniques, and his impartial treatment of both the impoverished immigrant population and the affluent elite.
Despite never venturing abroad, Bellows educated himself on the works of European masters by actively seeking them out in museums, particularly frequenting The Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 1911, the museum acquired one of Bellows's Hudson River scenes, titled "Up the Hudson," making him one of the youngest artists to have their work included in the collection at the time, at only twenty-nine years old. Over the years, the Met added ten more paintings, six drawings, and approximately fifty prints to their holdings of Bellows's work.
While rooted in realism, Bellows's art encompassed a wide range of subjects and reflected his experimentation with various color and compositional theories, as well as loose brushwork. These factors aligned him with the modernist movement, along with his unwavering dedication to artists' freedom of expression and their right to exhibit their work without interference from academic restrictions or juries.
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