Bare Knuckles

c. 1870/1885

George A. Hayes

Associated Names
George A. Hayes

Artist, American, active c. 1870/1885

This is a painting depicting a bare-knuckle boxing match with two fighters in a ring surrounded by a crowd. Both fighters are men with light skin, and they wear no shirts. The fighter on the left wears orange pants with black dots, while the fighter on the right wears red pants with white dots. Behind these men are two other shirtless men wearing the same types of pants, as well as two other men wearing more formal attire, including jackets, vests, and hats. Outside the ring, a semi-circle of light-skinned men in formal attire watch the central fight. The setting is outdoors, with grass around the feet of the spectators and green hills in the background. Above the group, the sky is light gray.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Recorded as from New York. (Henry W. Cowan, Troy, New York), by whom sold in 1953 to Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch; by bequest to NGA, 1980.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1954

  • American Primitive Paintings from the Collection of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, Part 1, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1954, no. 108.

1955

  • Sport in Art, traveling exhibition circulated by the American Federation of Arts, 1955-1956, no. 47.

  • American Primitive Paintings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1955.

1958

  • American Folk Art. Part of American Art. Four Exhibitions, Brussels Universal and International Exhibition, Belgium, 1958, no. 97, 49.

1961

  • 101 Masterpieces of American Primitive Painting from the Collection of E.W. and B.C. Garbisch, traveling exh. by the Amer. Federation of Arts, New York, 1961-1964, no. 91, color repro. First venue: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, N.Y.

1967

  • Fifty Masterpieces of American Painting from the Collection of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, Florida, 1967, no cat.

1968

  • American Naive Painting of the 18th and 19th Centuries: 111 Masterpieces from the Collection of E.W. and B.C. Garbisch, traveling exh. by Amer. Fed. of Arts, N.Y., 1968-1970, no. 97, repro. First venue: Grand Palais, Paris.

1970

  • American Naive Painting of the 18th and 19th Centuries: Masterpieces from the Collection of E.W. and B.C. Garbisch, organized by the Amer. Fed. of Arts, N.Y., and Mainichi News., Nihobashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo, 1970, no cat.

  • The New World: 1620-1970, The Chrysler Art Museum, Provincetown, Massachusetts, 1970, no. 20.

1971

  • What is American in American Art, M. Knoedler and Co. [benefit exhibition for the Museum of American Folk Art], New York, 1971, no. 60, repro.

1981

  • Champions of American Sport, National Portrait Gallery, Washington; Chicago Historical Society; American Museum of Natural History, New York, 1981-1982, not included in cat.

2010

  • American Naive Paintings from the Garbisch Collection at the National Gallery of Art, Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke, Virginia, 2010, no cat.

Bibliography

1966

  • Black, Mary, and Jean Lipman. American Folk Painting. New York, 1966: 103.

1971

  • Bihalji-Merin, Oto. Naive Art: A History and Worldwide Survey. New York, 1971: color pl. 39.

1992

  • Chotner, Deborah, with contributions by Julie Aronson, Sarah D. Cash, and Laurie Weitzenkorn. American Naive Paintings. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1992: 175-177, color repro. 176.

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 197, repro.

Inscriptions

lower left: GEO. A. HAYES.

Wikidata ID

Q20188725

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