GEORGE BELLOWS (1882-1925)
American painter and lithographer, Bellows
was born in Columbus, Ohio and attended Ohio State University, where he
was encouraged to pursue a career as a professional baseball player. In
1904, during his last year, he left school to study art in New York. Almost
immediately he became a student of Robert Henri and closely associated with
The Eight, a group of artists who emphasized the validity of the depiction
of the contemporary American scene in all its forms. Using broad, bold strokes
and a masterful use of light and shade, Bellows was a master lithographer
who produced 195 lithographs between 1916 and 1925. These, like his paintings,
depict scenes of a purely American nature- prize fights, street scenes,
social commentary and satire- displaying his hearty spirit and generous
nature. He died from peritonitis subsequent to a ruptured appendix, leaving
behind his wife Emma and his daughters Anne and Jean Bellows (now Booth),
a La Jolla resident.
DX235-THE SHOWER BATH
Lithograph: black
20-3/8" x 26-1/8" (image: 16-1/16" x 23-7/8")
Lower right: Geo Bellows
Lower center: The Shower Bath
Lower left: NO 22
Edition: 2nd State, of 3, from a total edition of 36
Date: 1917
Note: Bellows called this lithograph "a humoresque
of the Business men's class at the YMCA. Bathing after the gymnasium."
It exists in three states (as recorded in the artist's Record Book B, p.
139), the first state being identified by the moustache of the central figure.
The second state is the most finished and least cartoonlike, as Bellows
cut down the image substantially in the third state. A number of Bellows'
lithographs were signed and intialled (E.S.B.) by his wife, Emma Story Bellows.
This lithograph is signed, in pencil, by Bellows himself.
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