Gott Strafe (Gott Strafe England)
1918
Medium
Graphic Arts-Print
Classification
Graphic Arts-Print
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Olin Dows
Accession Number
1983.90.8
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the turbulent final year of World War I, artist George Bellows *Gott Strafe (Gott Strafe England)* a striking lithograph print that captures the raw horror of wartime atrocities. Bellows, renowned for realist style rooted in the Ashcan School turned his bold, expressive hand to graphic arts during 1918, producing a series of prints condemning reported German brutalities in Belgium. This work, part of the Smithsonian American Art's collection, draws from eyewitness accounts and propaganda, evoking the crucifixion of a male figure amid the conflict's dehumanizing violence. The title echoes t...
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 ...