The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 21, 2025
Preliminaries
1916
(American, 1882–1925)
Image: 40 x 49.6 cm (15 3/4 x 19 1/2 in.)
Gift of Leonard C. Hanna Jr. 1936.642
Catalogue raisonné: Mason 24
Location: Not on view
Description
By 1916, the year Bellows created Preliminaries, boxing was legal in New York and had begun attracting audiences beyond its usual working-class, male demographic. Relegating the ensuing match to the background, this print focuses on a group of wealthy spectators who arrive to take their seats in Madison Square Garden. According to the artist’s widow, the subject was occasioned by the first bout in New York to which women were permitted to attend.- Stag at Sharkey’s: George Bellows and the Art of Sports. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 14-September 18, 2016).The Cleveland Museum of Art, OH (05/14/2016-09/18/2016): “Stag at Sharkey’s: George Bellows and the Art of Sports”
- {{cite web|title=Preliminaries|url=false|author=George Bellows|year=1916|access-date=21 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1936.642