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George Wesley Bellows

Rain on the River, 1908

Now On View

Description

Maker

  • George Wesley Bellows, 1882-1925, American, designer

Title

Rain on the River

Year

1908

Medium

Oil on canvas

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • oil paint

Supports

  • canvas

Dimensions

82.2 x 97.2 cm (32 3/8 x 38 1/4 inches)

Type

  • Paintings

Credit

Jesse Metcalf Fund

Object Number

15.063

Projects & Publications

Publications

Selection VII

American Painting from the Museum's Collection, c.1800-1930

Exchange Exhibition, Exhibition Exchange

From the Collection of Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University; From the Collection of The Museum of Art, Rhode

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Making It In America

October 11, 2013 - February 9, 2014

Bellows rendered urban landscapes with a bold technique that appealed to early 20th-century critics. In this view from a rocky ledge above Riverside Park, he surveys a freight train making its way down New York Central’s Hudson River route. The string of cars reinforces a rushing diagonal that skirts the riverbank and culminates in a great puff of steam. Against the fog-shrouded backdrop, a pedestrian scurries across a rain-slicked path and coal scavengers fill a horse-drawn cart. Writing to RISD president Eliza Radeke, Bellows called Rain on the River “one of my most beautiful things.”

Can a landscape be epic? Bellows answers Yes, approaching the canvas at various speeds: quick abbreviations in the right-hand dock, slower development in the smoke and the important color shapes. Divided into quadrants of rain, river, industry, and park and rimmed with close-cropped rocks, the painting presents balance and dynamic action. A powerful range of tonal progressions is interrupted by linear sequences of trees and soil. Smoke, rain, mist, stone, and trees heighten the sense of touch. Human activity is represented in cool greens, warm grays, and touches of ochre gleaming through. Color reinforces the weather and the particularity of view. The painting evokes cities on rivers and artists who seek the outside experience as a home to subjective experience.

Nancy Friese, painter-printmaker and RISD professor (Graduate Studies)

Modernism in the Americas

June 20 - August 31, 2003

The Far Traveler

June 29 - September 3, 2000

American Paintings from the Museum's Collection

February 10 - April 1, 1999

George Bellows, The Eight, and the American Scene

July 7 - September 2, 1995

Selection VII

March 31 - May 8, 1977

Days Gone By

July 1 - September 26, 1971

Exchange Exhibition of Paintings from Rose Museum, Brandeis University

February 16 - April 2, 1967

Modern and Contemporary Galleries

Ohio native George Bellows constructed his urban landscape paintings with pigment-loaded brushstrokes and animated graphic marks. In this view from a rocky ledge above Riverside Park, he surveys a train making its way down the New York Central's Water Level Route. A rushing diagonal of freight cars skirts the Hudson River and exhales a great puff of steam. Against the backdrop of the fog-shrouded Palisades, a lone pedestrian scurries across a rain-slicked path and coal scavengers fill a horse-drawn cart. Writing to RISD president Eliza Radeke in 1915, Bellows called Rain on the River "one of my most beautiful things."

Paula and Leonard Granoff Galleries

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Rain on the River with the accession number of 15.063. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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