George Bellows (American, 1882-1925)
Stag at Sharkey's, 1909
Oil on canvas
Hinman B. Hurlbut Collection 1133.1922
©The Cleveland Museum of Art
Location: Gallery 238One of America's most dynamic artists, George Bellows chose painting over a career as a professional baseball player. Sports, however, continued to interest him and provide subjects for his paintings. This canvas depicts a fight at Tom Sharkey's Athletic Club, a popular entertainment bar, located directly across the street from the artist's studio in New York City. The two fighters seem equally matched, making it impossible to predict the outcome. Bellows captured the force and energy of the struggle by blurring the scene's details with rapid brushwork. The low viewpoint places us among the crowd, so that we become a part of the spectacle.