National Gallery exhibitions, visits, chat

[editor]

I'd never heard of the American artist George Bellows before, but I loved this painting showing a Brooklyn docks scene.

I've written a piece here - I think I may have to order a book of his work now

 

[farmerbarleymow]

That's a nice painting. I like that sort of not photo-realistic paintings where you have more imagination in a weird way looking at the detail and nuances, trying to work out if they are just brush strokes or meant to be there to represent a defect or whatever. Jesus, I sound like fucking Brian Sewell.

 

[editor]

That's a nice painting. I like that sort of not photo-realistic paintings where you have more imagination in a weird way looking at the detail and nuances, trying to work out if they are just brush strokes or meant to be there to represent a defect or whatever. Jesus, I sound like fucking Brian Sewell.

I spent ages looking at and got quite lost in the detail and imagination. I love it when a piece of art does that to me.

 

[oryx]

We went & admired that painting just last Tuesday. I loved the buildings in the background.

I think there as an exhibition of Bellows not that long ago in London - maybe even the Dulwich Picture Gallery?

 

[Belushi]

We went & admired that painting just last Tuesday. I loved the buildings in the background.

I think there as an exhibition of Bellows not that long ago in London - maybe even the Dulwich Picture Gallery?

Boxing paintings?

 

[Belushi]

That's a nice painting. I like that sort of not photo-realistic paintings where you have more imagination in a weird way looking at the detail and nuances, trying to work out if they are just brush strokes or meant to be there to represent a defect or whatever. Jesus, I sound like fucking Brian Sewell.

I'm reading all your posts in his voice now.

 

[editor]

We went & admired that painting just last Tuesday. I loved the buildings in the background.

I think there as an exhibition of Bellows not that long ago in London - maybe even the Dulwich Picture Gallery?

It was at the National Gallery in 2011. I didn't go
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/an-american-experiment

 

[editor]

I really like his work.

http://poulwebb.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/ashcan-school-george-bellows-part-4.html

 

[oryx]

Boxing paintings?

It was this, I think, at the National Gallery:

http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/an-american-experiment

ETA - you beat me to it!

 

[editor]

He also painted some powerful political works around real war atrocities. Some are really quite unsettling.
(Scroll down to see some here)

 

[Belushi]

This was the exhibition I was thinking of, at the RA last year http://www.visitmuseums.com/exhibition/george-bellows-1882-1925-at-royal-academy-of-arts-2473

 

[Stanley Edwards]

I have never heard of him. They look fucking awesome.

 

[editor]

I have never heard of him. They look fucking awesome.

It's been a long time since I've been so drawn to the work of a new artist and found myself just standing there soaking it up for ages.

 

[Stanley Edwards]

Hope the show comes to Madrid. Incredible light and colour.

 

[heinous seamus]

When I read the thread title I pictured a man called George bellowing at the National Gallery. Nice paintings though!

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

I'm surprised no one's heard of him. He was one of the more famous artists of his time. He was a student Robert Henri* (one of The Eight). He was both loved and hated for his "Ashcan" style at the time. Rather than paint idealized pictures, he painted scenes from real life. He most famous for paintings of boxers in the ring, but he also painted rich and poor alike.

* if you'all don't know who Robert Henri is, I'm going have to beat you senseless with limp linguini!

 

[Stanley Edwards]

The images posted here have got my painting fingers itching. I love the way he uses white. Going to give it a go tomorrow - an Ibiza scene heavily influenced by this thread. May find time to research a bit more before I start.

 

[editor]

I'm surprised no one's heard of him. He was one of the more famous artists of his time. He was a student Robert Henri* (one of The Eight). He was both loved and hated for his "Ashcan" style at the time. Rather than paint idealized pictures, he painted scenes from real life. He most famous for paintings of boxers in the ring, but he also painted rich and poor alike.

I really like some of Henri's work too.

 

[Stanley Edwards]

Very limited colour palette in most of his stuff, and they are all composed more photographically than cropped camera shots. Interesting stuff. Really want to see it in the flesh so to speak.

 

[Stanley Edwards]

Long time ago, but I would bet all I had that he used a camera and painted compostionally from photographs. Perhaps adding the dynamic colour on-site later.


---/ Which reminds me: I want someone to invent a scanner that can see the charcoal, or lead sketches underneath master pieces. This has to be possible. It would be fascinating.

 

[discokermit]

warmonger.

 

[editor]

warmonger.

Who, Bellows?

In 1918, he created a series of lithographs and paintings that graphically depicted the atrocities committed by Germany during its invasion of Belgium. Notable among these was The Germans Arrive, which was based on an actual account and gruesomely illustrated a German soldier restraining a Belgian teen whose hands had just been severed. However, his work was also highly critical of the domestic censorship and persecution of anti-war dissenters conducted by the U.S. government under the Espionage Act.

 

[discokermit]

Who, Bellows?

fraid so.

“ill-judged in their appeal to the passion of hatred as anything produced in America’s most hysterical war years…” virgil baker.

he supported u.s. involvement in ww1, the war paintings were part of this and based on the bryce report rather than any firsthand experience. the bryce report itself is an inaccurate propoganda piece.

 

[editor]

fraid so.

Not so sure how you can snottily dismiss him as a "warmonger" given his actual work and the context of the times he was living in, but whatever. Well done.

Now can we get back to talking about the art, please.

 

[discokermit]

Not so sure how you can snottily dismiss him as a "warmonger" given his actual work and the context of the times he was living in, but whatever. Well done.

Now can we get back to talking about the art, please.

i am talking about the art. the war paintings were done to make the viewer want to go out and kill germans.

 

[editor]

i am talking about the art. the war paintings were done to make the viewer want to go out and kill germans.

It was to try and get the US involved in WW1. Personally, I'm rather glad they did get involved.

 

[discokermit]

It was to try and get the US involved in WW1. Personally, I'm rather glad they did get involved.

why?

 

[discokermit]

It was to try and get the US involved in WW1.

so he was a warmonger then?

 

[editor]

why?

*gives up

 

[discokermit]

*gives up

lol! it's all you can do as you've realised your not gonna be able to defend wholesale capitalist slaughter. or your claim he wasn't a warmonger.

anyways, point is bellows and his work shift through time, from radical to conservative. the fieryness and dirtyness of the early stuff replaced by anodyne portraits of socialites. the armory show of 1913 may have been a blow when he realised how far behind the european avant guard he was and instead of raising his game just knocked out any old shit. from what i can gather, his political trajectory must have followed a similar path. except maybe replacing the armory show with the war.