Chock Full O Nuts: Bellows, boxing & ballyhoo, June 22nd

The Louis A. and Frances B. Wagner Lecture Series - Chock Full O Nuts: Bellows, Boxing and Ballyhoo, Sunday, June 22nd @ 3 p.m.
Auditorium. Free with Museum admission. Reception to follow.

Lecture by Robert Conway, curator of The Powerful Hand of George Bellows. Although he produced almost one thousand paintings, and an equal number of drawings and lithographs, George Bellows is best known for a handful of boxing images, primarily two paintings, Stag at Sharkey’s and Dempsey and Firpo, and their related drawings and prints.

These two icons of popular American art were created in 1909 and 1924, at the beginning and end of a brilliant career cut short by a fatal attack of appendicitis. Why did such a tiny percentage of his total output contribute so disproportionately to Bellows’ popular reputation?

What happened in the years between the two paintings, a period when he produced no major new boxing images? By examining the artist’s work in all media, and placing it in the context of the rapid development of professional boxing as a form of mass entertainment, this lecture will answer these questions, and give insight into the difficult situation faced by an artist on the leading edge of his profession.

This lecture was made possible by generous support from Louis A. and Frances B. Wagner.