A Stag at Sharkey's

1917

George Wesley Bellows American, 1882-1925

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About the Artwork

At the same time that Bellows presents us with an image of a contemporary sporting event, he also delves into a theme with a long history in art. By focusing on the physical power and intense engagement of the two fighters, we are invited to see them as battling warriors, a subject that has been treated since prehistoric times. For many years, public prize fighting was illegal in the United States but was permitted among members of private clubs such as Tom Sharkey’s Athletic Club, an establishment frequented by Bellows. Despite insisting that he knew little about the sport, Bellows depicted various aspects of boxing in his paintings, prints, and drawings. The subject was fraught with drama and alluded to more general concepts such as competition, battle, victory, and defeat. This print is related to a work painted by Bellows in 1909 and now in the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Title A Stag at Sharkey's

Artwork Date 1917

Artist George Wesley Bellows

Life Dates 1882-1925

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. American

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Unknown

Medium Lithograph printed in black ink on wove paper

Dimensions Image: 18 5/8 × 23 7/8 inches (47.3 × 60.6 cm) Sheet: 22 × 27 3/8 inches (55.9 × 69.5 cm)

Classification Prints

Department Prints, Drawings & Photographs

Credit Gift of Mrs. H. G. Salsinger in memory of her husband

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 59.185

Markings

Signed Signed on stone, lower center: Geo Bellows In pencil, lower right: Geo Bellows

Inscriptions Inscribed in pencil, lower left: No 13 Titled, lower center: A Stag at Sharkey's

Provenance

1959-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

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Exhibition History

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Published References

The American Scene: Artists from 1910-1945. Exh. cat., Krasl Art Center. St. Joseph, Michigan, 1985, p. 13.

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

George Wesley Bellows, A Stag at Sharkey's, 1917, lithograph printed in black ink on wove paper. Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Mrs. H. G. Salsinger in memory of her husband, 59.185.