Stag at Sharkey's
Stag at Sharkey's is a 1909 oil painting by the American artist George Wesley Bellows depicting two boxers fighting in the private athletic club situated across from his studio. It is part of the Ashcan School movement known in particular for depicting scenes of daily life in early twentieth century New York City, often in the city's poorer neighborhoods. Participants in the boxing ring were usually members of the club, but occasionally outsiders would fight with temporary memberships.
Stag at Sharkey's
George Bellows · The Cleveland Museum of Art · Hinman B. Hurlbut Collection · CC0
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
museum · 92937
In this article
The object
The object
These fighters were known as "stags".
Key facts
Key facts
• Title — Stag at Sharkey's • Artist — George Wesley Bellows • Year — 1909 • Medium — oil on canvas • Height Imperial — 36.25 • Width Imperial — 48.25 • Height Metric — 92 • Width Metric — 122.6 • Museum — Cleveland Museum of Art • City — Cleveland
History
History
He painted the work in August 1909, as a part of a boxing series. The painting has been a part of the Cleveland Museum of Art's permanent collection since 1922. He also created a lithograph of the scene, in 1917. Ninety-nine examples of this lithograph were printed. One example of this lithograph is located at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Description
Bellows used quick strokes to create a blurred image, simulating the two fighters in motion. He also chose a low point of view to situate the viewer among the crowd watching the fight, creating a sense of "expressive involvement" in the action. He said: "I don't know anything about boxing, I'm just painting two men trying to kill each other."
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Stag at Sharkey's, revision 1361380270 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Museum record
Stag at Sharkey'sCleveland Museum of Art
Institutional witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 September 2026.
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