Artwork Page for Solitude

Details / Information for Solitude

Solitude

1917

George Bellows

(American, 1882–1925)
Culture
America
Medium
lithograph
Measurements
Platemark: 43.3 x 39 cm (17 1/16 x 15 3/8 in.); Sheet: 60.8 x 54.7 cm (23 15/16 x 21 9/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Leonard C. Hanna Jr. 1936.580
Catalogue raisonné
Mason 37
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

The benches in this image are a specific type called the “Central Park settee.”

Description

In addition to leisure and recreation, city parks provided a place where couples could spend time together away from families and crowded apartments. Emphasizing the murky black of the night, George Bellows used tusche, a greasy ink, layered over lithographic crayon to create the mood of this print of park benches full of couples too absorbed in each other to notice anyone around them. A solitary man along the left edge is both physically and psychologically isolated from the others. Bellows often placed observers in his prints to suggest a connection between them and the viewer.
A vertically oriented lithograph in black ink depicts a nighttime park scene with heavy, granular shading. On the far left, a streetlamp illuminates a lone man seated on a bench. Moving right, several couples sit on benches; a central pair embraces while others huddle together. In the dark background, more figures occupy the lawn under a distant light. Hand-written text appears in the bottom margin.

Solitude

1917

George Bellows

(American, 1882–1925)
America

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