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Preview image of work. black crayon with traces of graphite on off-white wove paper,  Emma Bellows Walking 1827

1925.7

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Emma Bellows Walking

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Artist

George Bellows (Columbus, Ohio, 8/12/1882 or 8/19/1882 - 1/8/1925, New York, New York)

Title

Emma Bellows Walking

Creation Date

ca. 1920-1925

Century

20th century

Dimensions

11 in. x 7 11/16 in. (27.9 cm x 19.53 cm)

Object Type

drawing

Creation Place

North America, United States

Medium and Support

black crayon with traces of graphite on off-white wove paper

Credit Line

Gift of Walter K. Gutman, Class of 1924

Copyright

This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s Copyright Terms and Conditions.

Accession Number

1925.7

George Bellows earned his reputation from the creation of paintings, lithographs, and drawings that reflected contemporary life. One of his frequent models was his wife, Emma, captured here in mid-stride. Emma’s arms appear to move powerfully, echoing her legs in their diagonal arrangement on the page. The rapidity of the crosshatching further amplifies the sensation of a quick and purposeful gait, which has blown Emma’s hair back from her face. An athlete himself, and an avid painter of boxing scenes in particular, Bellows reveals through this study a commitment to analyzing the depiction of motion. Indeed, this drawing, produced late in the artist’s short career, suggests his attention to the new technologies of film and chronophotography, both of which had introduced new techniques for the representation of movement, even that invisible to the unaided eye.