George Bellows (American, 1882–1925)
Stag at Sharkey's
1909
George Bellows's 'Stag at Sharkey's' (1909) depicts an illegal boxing match at Tom Sharkey's Athletic Club in New York — 'stag' being period slang for an unlicensed fighter. Two boxers lock heads in a brutal clinch under a single overhead light, the composition compressed onto a blood-red ring. Oil on canvas and roughly life-size, it is one of the defining images of the Ashcan School and a cornerstone of the Cleveland Museum of Art's American holdings.
Exhibition Venue
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