Met Museum Lecture on George Bellows Exhibition

Bernardsville Public Library will present a Metropolitan Museum lecture on Tuesday, October 30 at 7:00 pm on the up-coming retrospective of the work of George Bellows, an important member of the group of early 20th century American artists that came to be called the Ashcan School.  Vivian Gordon from the Museum’s Education Department will give listeners a preview of the show which opens on November 15 in New York. 

George Bellows is best known today for his dynamic paintings of boxing matches.   But in a career cut short by his early death at age 42, he produced a prodigious amount of work on a great variety of other subjects including the tenements and working poor of his adopted city New York, excavations for the building of Penn Station, polo and tennis matches at wealthy resorts, seascapes of Maine, and moving images of the horrors of World War I.  At the time of his death, Bellows (1882–1925) was regarded as one of America's greatest artists.  In his brief life, he created an extraordinary body of work totaling approximately six hundred oil paintings, hundreds of drawings, and almost two hundred lithographs.  This landmark loan exhibition highlight his achievements in all media.  Comprising some 140 paintings, drawings, and lithographs, the exhibition invites the viewer to experience a dynamic and challenging period—the first quarter of the twentieth century—through the eyes of a brilliant observer.  The exhibition is the first retrospective of Bellows's career in more than three decades.

There is no charge to attend the program, but advance sign-up is requested.  Register online at www.bernardsvillelibrary.org and follow the link from Adult Programs, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up.