Prints
A Stag at Sharkey's
A Stag at Sharkey's, based on a painting from 1909 (Cleveland Museum of Art), focuses on the brutality of boxing performed in front of an exclusively male, working-class crowd. The ferocity of the combatants is reinforced by bloodthirsty expressions on the faces in the audience. To increase the drama, Bellows brought the viewer close to the action inside the ring by barely suggesting ropes in the foreground, almost eliminating the sense of enclosure.
When he created the painting, prizefighting was illegal in New York, but it thrived underground in seedy bars like Tom Sharkey's Athletic Club, which Bellows visited to observe the sport.
When he created the painting, prizefighting was illegal in New York, but it thrived underground in seedy bars like Tom Sharkey's Athletic Club, which Bellows visited to observe the sport.
