"I Certainly Want You Two Girls To Meet," at a Virginia Horse Show (Primary Title)
George Bellows, American, 1882 - 1925 (Artist)
George Bellows arrived in New York City in 1905 to pursue a career as an illustrator. However, under the influence of Robert Henri, he was inspired to render the realities of urban life. This painting is one of Bellows’s first major works to depict the tenements and slums of New York. The artist’s vigorous brushstroke emphasizes the rowdy playfulness of the children on the left. Yet there is also a disquieting note to the painting. In the early 20th century, the term “kids” specifically referred to working-class children, often unsupervised and roaming the streets. In a shallow field of vision, blocked by a wooden fence, stand three children, one smoking a cigarette. Their poses are suggestive of an adult indifference that belies their young age.
Signed at lower left: "Geo Bellows"
James W. and Frances Gibson McGlothlin Collection
Arts Students League of Columbus, Public Library, Ohio, November 1912
MacDowell Club, New York, 1910
Exhibition of Independent Artists (exhibited as "I do so want you girls to meet"), Galleries at 29-31 West 35th Street, New York
New York Water-Color Society, 1909
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 1908
MacDowell Club, New York, 1910
Exhibition of Independent Artists (exhibited as "I do so want you girls to meet"), Galleries at 29-31 West 35th Street, New York
New York Water-Color Society, 1909
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 1908
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