For some contemporaries, boxing was a powerful analogy for the notion that only the strongest and fittest would flourish in modern society. Around the time Bellows painted Stag at Sharkey’s, boxing was moving from a predominantly working-class enterprise to one with greater genteel appeal. 1951) spent much of his teenage years at the Worcester Art Museum viewing the museums collection of Flemish still-life paintings. 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 detractors who considered it uncouth at best or barbaric at worst, its proponents-among them President Theodore Roosevelt-regarded it a healthy manifestation of manliness. During her high school and college years. 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. Cates oil paintings are influenced by the Boston School tradition and Impressionism. 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. Bellows was no stranger to Sharkey’s Athletic Club, a raucous saloon with a backroom boxing ring, located near his studio.
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