Polo at Lakewood 1910

George Bellows made "Polo at Lakewood," with oils, and it's just brimming with dynamism. Bellows lays down these confident strokes of brown and white, building up the forms of the horses and riders as a blur of motion. It’s a real lesson in how much you can suggest with simple forms. The beauty of this piece is how the materiality supports the feeling. Look at how he uses these thick, juicy globs of paint to sculpt the bodies of the horses. You can almost feel the muscles rippling beneath their coats. And then compare that to the thin washes he uses for the background, especially that threatening sky. In one area on the left you can see where he uses a brush, maybe even just his thumb, to smear the paint to make the fast moving pony. It gives you a sense of place without being fussy. Bellows, like his contemporary Robert Henri, was interested in capturing the energy of modern life, and it shows.