The Bellows Class

Currently not on view

The Bellows Class

1918

Peggy Bacon (American, 1895–1987) Portrait of George Bellows (American, 1882–1925)

Several of Peggy Bacon's early drypoints capture events from her days at the Art Students League in New York. In this work she recreates a portraiture class she took with George Bellows (1882-1925), an American realist artist who adopted the dark palette and loose brushwork associated with the Ashcan School in his depictions of urban life. Bellows stands in the center with a weary countenance. His appearance reveals Bacon's own attitude toward his instruction, which she found "uniformly absurd" because of his insistence on rigid and exacting use of color and dynamic proportion.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Titles:

The Bellows Class
The George Bellows Class

Date:

1918

Artists:

Peggy Bacon (American, 1895–1987) Portrait of George Bellows (American, 1882–1925)

Medium:

Drypoint

Dimensions:

Plate: 5 15/16 x 7 15/16 inches (15.1 x 20.2 cm) Sheet: 6 7/8 x 8 1/2 inches (17.5 x 21.6cm)

Classification:

Prints

Credit Line:

Purchased with the Lola Downin Peck Fund from the Carl and Laura Zigrosser Collection, 1966

Accession Number:

1966-21-1

Geography:

Made in United States, North and Central America

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Currently not on view