Stag at Sharkey's
Bellows was no stranger to Sharkey’s Athletic Club, a raucous saloon with a backroom boxing ring, located near his studio. Founded by Tom “Sailor” Sharkey, an ex-fighter who had also served in the US Navy, the club attracted men seeking to watch or participate in matches. Because public boxing was illegal in New York at the time, a private event had to be arranged in order for a bout to take place. Participation was usually limited to members of a particular club, but whenever an outsider competed, he was given temporary membership and known as a “stag.” Although boxing had its share of det...
Details
- Palette
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Select a color to find related artworks.
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- framed: height 1.1 m, width 1.405 m, depth 0.085 m; unframed: height 0.92 m, width 1.226 m
- Origin
- America
- Department
- American Painting and Sculpture
- Holding institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Image provider
- cleveland-museum-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Hinman B. Hurlbut Collection
Art Genome Taxonomy
12 tags
Subject Matter
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Sports/Athletics Both · 99%
Two male boxers are visibly engaged in a bout, and the catalog identifies the setting as a boxing club.
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Crowds Visual · 98%
Numerous spectators occupy the foreground and the shadowed areas behind the ring ropes.
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Movement Visual · 98%
The intertwined bodies, extended limbs, diagonal poses, and shifting weight create a pronounced sense of action.
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Conflict Both · 94%
The central scene depicts a forceful boxing exchange, while the catalog discusses boxing in relation to physical confrontation and contemporary debate over its acceptability.
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Masculinity Both · 90%
The image centers on a male boxing contest, and the catalog explicitly connects boxing with contemporary ideas of manliness.
Visual Qualities
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Dark Colors Visual · 98%
Black, navy, gray, and other dark tones dominate the interior and crowd, contrasted with illuminated flesh tones and pale clothing.
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Dynamism Visual · 98%
The composition relies on strong diagonals, compressed bodily poses, and abrupt shifts of weight to convey forceful action.
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Dense Composition Visual · 96%
The ring, fighters, official, spectators, and surrounding darkness densely fill the pictorial space with little open background.
Medium and Techniques
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Painting Metadata · 99%
The museum classifies the work as a painting.
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Oil Painting Metadata · 99%
The catalog identifies the medium as oil on canvas.
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Large Brushstrokes/Loose Brushwork Visual · 94%
Broad, visibly energetic strokes describe the fighters, ropes, clothing, and spectators rather than producing uniformly smooth detail.
Geographic Regions
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American Art Metadata · 98%
The museum metadata identifies the work as American in origin and identifies Bellows as an American artist.
Source & rights
George Bellows (American, 1882–1925). Stag at Sharkey's. Cleveland Museum of Art.