Arms of a Boxer
1916
Medium
black chalk on wove paper
Dimensions
sheet: 27.94 × 21.59 cm (11 × 8 1/2 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Daniel and Rita Fraad
Accession Number
1983.4.1
Art Historical Context
George Bellows, a leading figure in the Ashcan School of American realism, captured the raw intensity of early 20th-century urban life, often turning his gaze to the gritty world of boxing. *Arms of a Boxer* (1916) exemplifies this fascination, likely serving as a preparatory study for one of his dynamic boxing scenes. During this period, Bellow was at the height of his career, chronicling the brutal energy of New York Prize Ring fights, which symbolized the era's social upheavals and the rise of working-class spectacles. Rendered in bold black chalk on wove paper—a medium favored for its tex...
About the Artist
George Bellows
George Wesley Bellows was born on August 12, 1882, in Columbus, Ohio, the only child of building contractor George Bellows Sr. and Anna Smith Bellows, with an older half-sister, Laura. A talented athlete who excelled in baseball and basketball at Ohio State University from 1901 to 1904, Bellows illustrated for the school yearbook before rejecting a professional baseball contract to pursue art. In ...