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
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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.
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