CINCINNATI, OH.- A glimpse into the everyday life and spirit of early twentieth-century America—from the perspective of a noted Ohio painter, illustrator and printmaker—has been revealed at the Cincinnati Art Museum in George Bellows: American Life in Print. This free exhibition is on view through February 9, 2025.
The exhibition commemorates the 100th anniversary of George Bellows’ (1882–1925) passing and feature 55 lithographs and drawings gifted and lent by Dr. James and Mrs. Lois Sanitato.
George Bellows: American Life in Print is accompanied by a 184-page, illustrated catalogue published by Giles Ltd. It features two essays: “Bellows, Advocate for Lithography” is an in-depth examination of 66 lithographs and drawings. A second essay explores the artist’s rise to fame in “Bellows and the ‘Art Palace of the West,’” focusing on his long-term relationship with the Cincinnati Art Museum and its Annual Exhibition of American Art.
Most of the works in George Bellows: American Life in Print are lithographs. Lithography is based on the fact that grease and water do not mix. An artist draws on a stone with a greasy material. The surface is then chemically treated to make the drawn image receptive to greasy printing ink, while the blank areas, when kept wet, repel the ink. The artist then presses paper onto the inked drawing to transfer the image.
Bellows was well known for his works’ social realism, an example being his scenes of boxers in the ring. Four of these works will be in the exhibition, along with intimate studies of his family and friends, snap shots of American life, atrocities of World War I and more.
“As an artist lithographer, Bellows transformed topical subjects into fine art,” shared Kristin Spangenberg, Curator of Prints at the Cincinnati Art Museum. “He advocated for lithography at a time when it was stigmatized as a commercial medium, capturing the spirit of the times with themes that were undeniably American.”
Bellows was born in 1882, in Columbus, Ohio. He attended the New York School of Art, where he studied under Robert Henri (1865–1929), a member and proponent of the Ashcan School. Henri encouraged his students to move beyond European traditions and to open their eyes to contemporary life and the transformation of the New York urban environment.
Just a few years later, Bellows garnered critical acclaim, becoming the youngest elected member to the National Academy. Financially successful, he later set up a lithograph press in his studio. Bellows eventually executed more than 190 prints in nine years.
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