The Knock Out

Artist George Wesley Bellows (1882 - 1925)

Date1907

MediumPastel, ink, and graphite on paper

Dimensions21 3/4 × 28 in. (55.2 × 71.1 cm)
Framed: 34 1/2 × 40 1/4 × 2 5/8 in.

ClassificationsDrawing

Credit LineCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2010.82

Signedu.r., in white pastel: Bellows

Accession number 2010.82

On View

Not on view

Provenanceto Celia Tobin Clark [d. 1965], San Mateo, CA, 1916; A. S. W. Rosenbach [1876-1952], Philadelphia, PA; by bequest to The Philip H. and A.S.W. Rosenbach Foundation, Philadelphia, PA, 1952; (Davis & Long Company, New York, NY); purchased by Daniel Fraad [1912-1987] and Rita Fraad [1915-2004], 1976; to (Sotheby's, New York, NY), December 1, 2004, lot 13; purchased by a private foundation for Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR, 2004
Label TextBoxing grew in popularity at the turn of the century, but some viewed the activity as a moral vice. New York State outlawed public contests in 1900. Prizefighting took to private venues such as Sharkey’s Athletic Club, where George Bellows witnessed matches. The Knock Out foregrounds the violence of the sport, as a referee struggles to hold back the victor from further beating his fallen opponent. Bellows also emphasized the intensity of the fans, surging forward and reveling in the escape from polite social conventions.
Inscribedverso, on sheet: Geo Bellows / 1907 / Broadway / N.Y. / A Knock Out