Dempsey And Firpo 1923 - 1924

George Bellows made this print of a boxing match. The scene is a flurry of marks, jabs, and uppercuts, and the dark atmosphere is punctuated by the bright lights of the boxing ring and the screaming faces in the crowd. I can imagine Bellows in the stands with his sketchbook, charcoal stick in hand, trying to capture the dynamism of the boxing ring in real-time. It must have been exhilarating to watch the match and then translate it into the language of mark-making, line, tone, and composition. I love that he’s captured the feeling of one boxer upended upside down while the other looms over him, and the lines that create the ropes of the ring. The material of the print enables the artist to capture the feeling of the match. Bellows has taken inspiration from his peers and paid it forward to future artists. It reminds us that artists are always in conversation with each other, inspired by the same subjects and materials, such as boxing or drawing, in the same moment, and across generations.