George Wesley Bellows (American, 1882-1925) Jackie (Jacqueline Hudson), 1914 Oil on panel 24-1/2 x 24-3/4 inches (62.2 x 62.9 cm) Bears title, numbers and inscription, likely by the artist's wife, on the reverse: JACKIE / 4630 / 757 / 494 / Nov 18/29 / Mrs. G. Bellows / 15-6-57 St PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF DAVID L. BALLARD, CROTON FALLS, NEW YORK PROVENANCE: The artist; Estate of the above, 1925; Emma S. Bellows, the artist's wife; Estate of the above, 1959; [With]H.V. Allison & Co., New York; Mrs. Max Dreyfus, Bronxville, New York, acquired from the above; David L. Ballard, Dreyfus family chauffeur, gift from the above; By descent to the present owner. EXHIBITED: H.V. Allison & Co., New York, "Paintings by George Bellows," April 17-May 19, 1956, no. 12; H.V. Allison & Co., New York, "George Bellows," May 7- May 31, 1963, no. 7. LITERATURE: Artist's Record Book A, p. 290. When George Bellows arrived in New York City in 1905 at the age of twenty-three, he immediately set out to challenge the prevailing interest in refined subjects in painting. The Beaux Arts style at the beginning of the 20th century equated high art with high society. Bellows instead found his inspiration in the working class, which at this moment consisted mostly of immigrants. Over a million Europeans entered America each year through New York's harbor and many stayed to build its bridges and skyscrapers, to man the restaurants, or simply sell newspapers on the street. Bellows found it easy to mingle with the new immigrants, and fought hard to capture their freshness and expressiveness on canvas. Irish kids were ubiquitous on the sidewalks, and on occasion the artist succeeded in having one of these colorful children sit still long enough for him to complete a likeness. Bellows' fascination with the local working class began in New York, and carried over to his time in Maine. Every summer from 1911 until 1916, the artist and his wife searched out cooler climates for new artistic inspiration, away from the heat of New York City. Maine was Bellows' favorite destination, and he would spend months there on extended vacations, visiting either coastal communities such as Camden or Ogunquit, or ferrying out to the islands. Executed in Monhegan in 1914, Jackie represents one of the finest of the artist's portraits. The young girl's mischievous yet sweet vivacity is barely contained, and there is no question that the artist's painterly style forcefully conveys this youth's boundless energy. Jackie Hudson, the subject of the present work, was the daughter of Eric Hudson, a contemporary artist who also summered on Monhegan, alongside fellow artists Robert Henri, Rockwell Kent, and Bellows. Bellows also painted Jackie's sister Julie that same summer, one month later. The two sisters both become permanent residents of Monhegan in their later years. Jackie is defined by a bold and direct character that embodies greater human themes and manifests the unique and daring aesthetic that defines Bellows' best works. The timeless power and importance of this aesthetic was widely recognized by subsequent generations and, even the famed formalist critic Clement Greenberg acknowledged the significance of Bellows' oeuvre in the history of American art, writing in 1949: "George Bellows is one of the most important artists America has produced in this century...like Manet, Bellows modeled his forms broadly, in varying shades of local color, not in gradual grays or blacks. This style was a continuation, essentially, of Manet's phase of impressionism, but...Bellows...extracted something sufficiently new from it, something this writer considers to be still a part of the best American art of the twentieth century" (as quoted in C. Brock, "George Bellows: An Unfinished Life," George Bellows, p. 23). This work is included in the online version of the artist's catalogue raisonné available at www.hvallison.com, and will be included in the publication being prepared by Glenn C. Peck. HID03101062020 © 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved See More