Dock Builders

Artist George Wesley Bellows American, 1882–1925

Date1916

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions30 1/4 x 38 1/4 in. (76.8 x 97.2 cm)
Frame: 37 1/4 x 45 1/2 x 3 in. (94.6 x 115.6 x 7.6 cm)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineGift of Ann and Jim Goodnight

Object number2016.8.1

On View

On view

Provenance**Created United States, 1916; collection of the artist; [M. Knoedler & Co., New York, NY]; Adolph Lewisohn (1849–1938), New York, 1917; [Marie Sterner, New York]; Mr. A. M. Dick, New York; Estate of A. M. Dick; [sale, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, May 2, 1956, no. 90, illus. (b-w)]; M. V. Morgan; C. Ruxton Love Jr. , New York, 1966; [Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, 1973]; [Meredith Long & Co., Houston, TX, 1976]; Antoinette and Isaac Arnold Jr., Houston, 1976; [sale, Sotheby’s, New York, December 1, 1994, no 38, illus. (color)]; Edward Parker Evans (1942–2011), New York & Casanova, VA; Evans Estate, 2011; [sale, Sotheby’s, New York, May 19, 2011, no 24, illus. (color), cover]; Dr. and Mrs. James H. Goodnight, Cary, NC, 2011; given to NCMA, 2015.
Published ReferencesBellows Record Book B, p. 47.

Mahonri Sharp Young, The Paintings of George Bellows (New York, NY: Watson-Guptill Publications, 1973), 96; 97, pl. 38, illus. (color), collection of Hirschl & Adler Galleries.

Selections from the collections of the Hirschl and Adler Galleries: American Paintings 1876–1963 (New York, NY: Hirschl & Adler, [1975?]), 3.

Michael Quick, Jane Myers, Marianne Doezema, and Franklin Kelly. The Paintings of George Bellows (New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 1992), 53, 55–57, 160, illus. (color), 57, fig. 54.

Henry Adams, “The Paintings of George Bellows,” American Artist, vol. 56 no. 600 (July 1992), 59, illus. (color).

Michael Kimmelman, “George Bellows, Iconoclast with a Heart,” New York Times (June 14, 1992), 84.

Michael Quick, essay for Dock Builders in Sotheby’s, New York, NY, Edward P. Evans Collection sale catalogue (May 19, 2011), 37–39.

Sarah Cash, “Life at Sea, 1911–1917,” essay in George Bellows (exhibition catalogue), (Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 2012),165, 323, n. 42.

John W. Coffey and Laura Fravel, A Preliminary Catalogue of The Art Collection of Ann and Jim Goodnight (Privately printed [NCMA], 2014), no. 21, illus. (color).
Exhibition History[Chicago, IL, Chicago Arts Club, 1917.]

New York, NY, Milch Galleries, “George Bellows,” March 1918, no. 6 (as Dock Builders).

Columbus, OH, Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, “Paintings by George Bellows,” March 21–April 21, 1957, no. 34 (as The Dock Builders), lent by C. Ruxton Love Jr.

New York, NY, Gallery of Modern Art, “George Bellows: Paintings, Drawings, Lithographs,” March 15–May 1, 1966, no. 39, lent by C. Ruxton Love Jr., New York.

New York, NY, Hirschl & Adler Galleries, “George Bellows (1882–1922),” 1971, no. 9, illus.

New York, NY, City Hall, “The Ash Can School,” April–July 1975, no. 2, lent by Hirschl & Adler Galleries.

New York, NY, Hirschl & Adler Galleries, “Selections from the Collection of Hirschl and Adler Galleries: American Paintings, 1876–1963,” 1975, illus. (color) 3.

Houston, TX, Museum of Fine Arts, “The Private Eye: Selected Works from the Collections of Friends of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston,” June 11–August 13, 1989, listed p. 107, collection of Antonette and Isaac Arnold Jr.

Los Angeles, CA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, “The Paintings of George Bellows,” February 16–May 10, 1992; New York, NY, Whitney Museum of American Art, June 5–August 30, 1992; Columbus, OH, Columbus Museum of Art, October 11, 1992–January 3, 1993; Fort Worth, TX, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, February 20–May 9, 1993, cat. pp. 53, 56, 57, 160, illus. (color), p. 57, fig. 54, lent by Antonette and Isaac Arnold Jr., Houston, TX

New York, NY, Metropolitan Museum of Art, “George Bellows,” November 14, 2012–February 18, 2013, illus. (color), pl. 68.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," October 7, 2022–present. Object Rights Statement

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