George Bellows: Modern American Life

Surprising exhibition at the Royal Academy of work by The American realist artists George Bellows.

I must admit I’d gone along as a follow up to the Manet exhibition but almost preferred this one. I particularly liked the early work such as the nude in the first room who was made more vulnerable by the fact she still had her shoes on.

His New York pictures were fabulous. I liked the Penn Station picture which looked just like the current work in London at Tottenham Court Road! The leisure pictures were a bit clichéd but I loved a stunning seascape called “Forth and back”.

I wasn’t convinced by his war pictures partly because they were based on newspaper reports rather than real life and smacked slightly of the “plucky little Belgiums” stage of the First World War.


The later works were fascinating as he tried out different styles. As he died quite young it was hard to tell what his mature style would have been.

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