“George Bellows”

Welcome to Museum Reads, the Newport Art Museum’s Art-Themed book group for adults! Are you looking to learn more about art and artists, or enjoy digging into some of the issues present in our current exhibitions? Then this friendly discussion group is for you. We meet monthly on the third Thursday at 12 noon, in person and virtually. Join us virtually from the office for an invigorating lunch break, or enjoy an hour of inspiration during a wee one’s nap time, or find us in the gallery for in-person conversation.

George Bellows: An Artist in Action by Mary Sayre Haverstock

George Wesley Bellows (1882-1925) painted American life in action. From prizefights and polo matches to children playing on the banks of a river, his subjects reflect his vivacious approach to the world around him. A major realist painter, his vigorous brushstrokes also compose landscapes of remote areas of natural beauty, scenes of bustling city streets, and intimate portraits of society figures, friends, and family. All dynamics of early twentieth-century America fill Bellows’s canvases and prints.

Bellows studied at the New York School of Art under Robert Henri and became one of the leading artists of the Ashcan school. His technical brilliance and vibrant realism were celebrated from early in his career, and at the age of twenty-six he became one of the youngest artists ever to be elected to the National Academy of Design in New York. Bellows exhibited often, to great acclaim, and completed many significant commissions, achieving a powerfully impressive body of work before his sudden death in his early forties.

This book brings together the most important works of Bellows’s short but prolific career, combining them with an in-depth biography of the artist. Photographs of family and friends, as well as of Bellows himself throughout his life, illuminate the text and complete this portrait of George Bellows, the artist and the man.

Museum Reads is free for Members, and $5 for yet-to-be Members.  

Be sure to register online to receive email updates and Zoom links.
For last minute registrations, please call the front desk for the Zoom link at 401-848-8200.