Courtesy of Blue Water Communications
The George Bellows Center at Columbus Museum of Art
On Nov. 4, the Columbus Museum of Art will launch a new center is dedicated to honoring the legendary George Bellows and other Ashcan School artists.
The George Bellows Center features an art gallery and study space for visiting scholars and students where public events will be held throughout the year.
Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, George Bellows was a realist painter and regarded as one of America's greatest artists when he died in 1925. Bellow made a point not to forget where he came from by maintaining ties to Columbus. Portraits of prominent Columbus citizens were one of Bellow's first commissions. His first major Ashcan School artists exhibition outside of New York was in Columbus.
As both a printmaker and painter, Bellows covered a variety of subjects, like vast cityscapes and family portraits. He was a part of a groundbreaking group that heavily influenced American art. His images, primarily his lithographs reflect his social justice concerns like immigration, WWI and capital punishment.
The Teckie and Don Shackelford families provided leadership support that made the center possible. The family also endowed the CMA curator of American art, who serves as the Bellow Center director.
Noted Bellows scholar Mark Cole, William P. and CMA curator of American painting and sculpture Amanda C. Madar will headline the center's opening weekend.
Cole will present a lecture on the artist, highlighting Bellows's gifted athletic and observing skills and touching on how he interpreted the world around him, especially sporting subjects, as a microcosm of society. Bellows saw sports as a metaphor for life itself. His images of rivalry and skill serve as solid symbols for the competitive spirit that built early modern America.
Courtesy of Blue Water Communications
George Bellows, Self-Portrait
George Bellows, self-portrait
Throughout opening weekend, guests are encouraged to stop by the new Bellow's center for an exclusive look at Bellows' arts record book, in addition to Bellows prints, lithographs and paintings.
Inaugural programming for the center continues into the Spring of 2022 with a lecture from Charles Brock, associate curator of American and British paintings at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. and lead scholar and curator of the National Gallery's 2012 retrospective on the artist.
In the United States, CMA has the most important collection of Bellows' work. CMA continues to compile one of the most significant collections of Bellow's lithographs in a public institution. In addition, CMA continues to grow its collection of Bellow paintings and lithograph drawings.
CMA's Bellows Center plans to recognize the centennial of the artist's death in 2025 with a special exhibition, publication, and public programs. Currently, CMA is working on publishing the Bellows record book and making it accessible online. It is jointly owned by the museum and The Ohio State University.
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