1921
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Introducing Georges Carpentier is a 1921 by George Bellows, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This painting shows a boxer in a red robe standing between two men in suits. One man grips his arm like a coach or friend. The boxer’s face looks calm but tired. The fight it shows was a huge deal in 1921. Georges Carpentier, a French war hero, fought Jack Dempsey in front of 90,000 people. Carpentier lost fast, ending the match in four rounds. Look up another Bellows painting at The Cleveland Museum of Art.
Promoted as the “battle of the century,” the match between French pugilist Georges Carpentier and American Jack Dempsey took place on July 2, 1921, in Jersey City at an enormous outdoor arena built specifically for the bout. With the First World War fresh in mind, the crowd favored Carpentier, a twice-decorated pilot in the French Air Force, over Dempsey, who was viewed as a draft evader despite having been exonerated of the charge by a jury the previous year. The match ended quickly with a knockout by Dempsey in the fourth round. The event attracted more than 80,000 spectators and generated…
Read the full account in the museum source.
George Wesley Bellows (August 12 or August 19, 1882 – January 8, 1925) was an American realist painter, known for his bold depictions of urban life in New York City.
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