A Stag at Sharkey’s 1917

George Bellows' lithograph presents a boxing match with a mass of dark, charcoal-like marks creating a visceral sense of struggle and strain. I imagine Bellows, caught in the atmosphere of the boxing ring, furiously working the lithographic stone, trying to match the energy of the fighters with his own. The dark, inky quality really gets at the grit and sweat of the scene, doesn't it? Look how the figures seem to push against the edges of the frame, like they're about to burst out. It’s like he is wrestling with the image himself. Bellows' work reminds us that artists are always in conversation with each other, borrowing and riffing on ideas across time. This print exemplifies how painting, and printmaking as well, can be an embodied expression, embracing ambiguity and uncertainty.