Dempsey and Firpo
The exhibit Dempsey and Firpo is a lithograph created in 1924 by George Bellows. George Bellows was an established illustrator and a painter of the Ashcan School, a group of artists who recorded everyday life among New York’s working class in sympathetic, often gritty detail (High Museum). Ashcans were bins in which people within the city collected the ashes from their coal fired furnaces. The painters from the Ashcan School would focus on painting the American society as spirited and honest as possible. Bellows most memorable art work comes from a series of sketches he did of boxing matches. George Bellows was hired to make sketches of a heavyweight bout between champion Jack Dempsey and the challenger, Luis Angel Firpo of Argentina. Firpo was the first Latin American fighter to try and become world heavyweight champ and was the major underdog. George decided to sketch the moment when Firpo landed a perfect punch to Dempsey which knocked him through the ropes and out of the ring onto the press box below.
George Bellows had energetic, slashing brushwork that helped him to match the intensity and action of the fighters (Ziska, Deborah). He was able to contrast black and white to help show the bright lights and the emotions on peoples faces. The painting shows the bright lights and a crowd of people as they watch and cheer while one fighter knocks the other out of the ring and onto the table full of people. The faces of all the people are showing different types of emotions from surprise to excitement. The fighters are tall muscular and made to look like athletes. The white circles at the top of the drawing are depicted to be the bright lights that shine down from the roof of the arena. The bald man that is on the left hand side of the drawing is the artist himself.
During Word War II, the U.S. Armed Forces commissioned a photographic facsimile of the print for distribution to soldiers in camps and hospitals (Ziska, Deborah). Due to a printers strike the original copy of this drawing was never printed. This painting has been said to be the greatest American sports painting but, Bellows was criticized for showing the right handed fighter Firpo knocking out Dempsey with his left hand. Firpo would go on to loose to Dempsey in the second round but this image has helped him to be the most memorable of the two boxers.
Bellows did a great job of illustrating what he witnessed the night if the fight. The drawing almost looks real with bright lights and a crowd of people cheering on the fighters. He was able to capture the energy and the excitement on the peoples faces as Firpo knocked Dempsey out of the ring. The painting is even more realistic with his ability to define human anatomy and dress people for their positions. George Bellows was an American artist born in Ohio and lived from 1882 to 1925. The National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C. will host an exhibition of his career from June 10, 2012 throughout October 8, 2012.
Works Cited
Ziska, Deborah. “First Comprehensive Exhibition in Three Decades of George Bellows’ Prolific Career to Open at National Gallery of Art, Washington, June 10 through October 8, 2012; Travels to New York and London.” National Gallery of Art. N.p., 1 Jan. 2012. Web. 24 Sept. 2012. .
“High Museum of Art.” High Museum of Art Atlanta. N.p., 1 Jan. 2012. Web. 24 Sept. 2012. .
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