Skip to main contentProvenanceThe artist
Estate of the artist, 1925
Emma S. Bellows (wife of artist)
Estate of Emma S. Bellows, 1959
H. V. Allison & Company, Inc., New York, New York
Collection of Merton and Barbara Shapiro, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1975
Christie's New York, New York, May 26, 1999, lot 79
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1999
Exhibition HistoryPublished References
George Bellows
(American, 1882–1925)
Nude Girl, Miss Leslie Hall
1909
Oil on canvas
Image: 60 x 42 in. (152.4 x 106.7 cm)
Frame: 71 9/16 x 53 3/8 in. (181.8 x 135.5 cm)
Frame: 71 9/16 x 53 3/8 in. (181.8 x 135.5 cm)
Credit LineTerra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Art Acquisition Endowment Fund
Object number1999.5
SignedLower right: Geo. Bellows; inscribed on the reverse: George Bellows/1947 B'dway/NY/"Nude"
InterpretationIn Nude Girl, Miss Leslie Hall, George Bellows reworked the time-honored artistic subject of the female nude to challenge academic standards of idealism and timeless universality. Seated against a dark-green wall, Miss Hall seems deliberately unposed, perhaps interrupted as she buckles her shoe following a session of formal posing in the artist’s studio; the flashes of red and white color in the lower right corner of the canvas suggest items of clothing she is about to reassume. The model’s introspective gaze as she looks up from under a cluster of dark-red curls reinforces the sense of violated privacy. Vigorously painted in rough, rapid brushstrokes that starkly represent the woman’s lumpy flesh and rather melancholy expression, the painting seems the result of a process as spontaneous as the moment it pictures. Yet the composition is carefully constructed according to geometric principles, with the figure arranged as a pyramid of nested triangles that draws attention upwards to her pensive face. The model’s awkward pose in addition to an unexpected sense of confrontation undermine the conventional relationship between viewer and model, questioning the assumptions on which the artistic theme of the nude is founded.
A relatively early work originally titled simply Nude Girl, this is one of numerous paintings of the nude female model that Bellows made throughout his short but prolific career. Bellows announced his arrival as a professional painter in 1906 with the exhibition of a full-length standing nude in his New York City studio, and he painted his last nudes in 1924, only two years before his untimely death. Though not commercially successful, these works were important for the artist as the means of exploring various theories of color and composition. The male nude, too, figures prominently in many of his more familiar works, notably his paintings and lithograph prints showing prizefighters and street urchins at play and several works treating war and religious themes.
In many of Bellows’s later nude paintings, conventionally posed female models are shown in colorful surroundings and accompanied by props, such as birds, flowers, or fruit, that complement their physical beauty; these works, despite their contemporary settings and style, echo Renaissance and Baroque precedents. In contrast, Nude Girl, Miss Leslie Hall is psychologically penetrating and consciously anti-academic, the work of a young artist seeking to express the vital reality of modern American life. In this, as in its bold technique, its unflattering realism, and its spontaneity, the painting reflects the inspiration of Bellows’s teacher, iconoclastic painter Robert Henri, and the circle of artists to which both belonged, the so-called Ashcan school of realist painters and illustrators.
A relatively early work originally titled simply Nude Girl, this is one of numerous paintings of the nude female model that Bellows made throughout his short but prolific career. Bellows announced his arrival as a professional painter in 1906 with the exhibition of a full-length standing nude in his New York City studio, and he painted his last nudes in 1924, only two years before his untimely death. Though not commercially successful, these works were important for the artist as the means of exploring various theories of color and composition. The male nude, too, figures prominently in many of his more familiar works, notably his paintings and lithograph prints showing prizefighters and street urchins at play and several works treating war and religious themes.
In many of Bellows’s later nude paintings, conventionally posed female models are shown in colorful surroundings and accompanied by props, such as birds, flowers, or fruit, that complement their physical beauty; these works, despite their contemporary settings and style, echo Renaissance and Baroque precedents. In contrast, Nude Girl, Miss Leslie Hall is psychologically penetrating and consciously anti-academic, the work of a young artist seeking to express the vital reality of modern American life. In this, as in its bold technique, its unflattering realism, and its spontaneity, the painting reflects the inspiration of Bellows’s teacher, iconoclastic painter Robert Henri, and the circle of artists to which both belonged, the so-called Ashcan school of realist painters and illustrators.
Estate of the artist, 1925
Emma S. Bellows (wife of artist)
Estate of Emma S. Bellows, 1959
H. V. Allison & Company, Inc., New York, New York
Collection of Merton and Barbara Shapiro, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1975
Christie's New York, New York, May 26, 1999, lot 79
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1999
Exhibition History
National Arts Club Galleries, New York, 1910.
Paintings by George Bellows, Art Students League of Columbus, Columbus, Ohio, 1912.
George Bellows, H. V. Allison & Co., Inc., New York, New York, May 1–26, 1962, no. 2.
George Bellows, H. V. Allison & Co., Inc., New York, New York, May 2–27, 1967, no. 2.
Figures and Forms: Selections from the Terra Foundation for the Arts, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, May 9–July 9, 2000.
L'Amérique et les modernes, 1900–1950 (American Moderns, 1900–1950), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, July 25–October 31, 2000. [exh. cat.]
On Process: Studio Themes, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, January 13–March 4, 2001.
(Re)Presenting Women, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 16, 2001–January 13, 2002.
D'une colonie à une collection: le Musée d'Art Américain Giverny fête ses dix ans (From a Colony to a Collection: Celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of the Musée d'Art Américain Giverny), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, March 30–June 16, 2002.
A Place on the Avenue: Terra Museum of American Art Celebrates 15 Years in Chicago, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 16, 2002–February 16, 2003.
Collection Cameo, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, January 2003.
The People Work: American Perspectives, 1840–1940 (Le Travail à l'oeuvre: les artistes américains, 1840-1940), Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venues: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, March 15–May 25, 2003; Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, June 8–August 17, 2003. [exh. cat.]
Visages de l'Amérique: de George Washington à Marilyn Monroe (Faces of America: From George Washington to Marilyn Monroe), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 31, 2004. [exh. cat.]
Twarze Ameryki: Portrety z kolekcji Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940 (Faces of America: Portraits from the collection of the Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France and Miedzynarodowe Centrum Kultury (International Cultural Center), Cracow, Poland (organizers). Venue: International Cultural Center, Cracow, Poland, February 15–May 7, 2006. [exh. cat.]
An American Experiment: George Bellows and the Ashcan Painters, National Gallery, London, United Kingdom and Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizers). Venue: National Gallery, London, United Kingdom, March 3– May 30, 2011. [exh. cat.]
George Bellows, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC in association with Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York, and Royal Academy of Arts, London, United Kingdom (organizers). Venues: National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, June 10–October 8, 2012; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York, November 14, 2012–February 18, 2013; Royal Academy of Arts, London, United Kingdom. [exh. cat.] (exhibited in Washington and New York only).
Bellows and the Body: The Real, The Ideal and the Nude , The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK (organizer). Venue: The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK, October 21, 2016–January 22, 2017
Paintings by George Bellows, Art Students League of Columbus, Columbus, Ohio, 1912.
George Bellows, H. V. Allison & Co., Inc., New York, New York, May 1–26, 1962, no. 2.
George Bellows, H. V. Allison & Co., Inc., New York, New York, May 2–27, 1967, no. 2.
Figures and Forms: Selections from the Terra Foundation for the Arts, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, May 9–July 9, 2000.
L'Amérique et les modernes, 1900–1950 (American Moderns, 1900–1950), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, July 25–October 31, 2000. [exh. cat.]
On Process: Studio Themes, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, January 13–March 4, 2001.
(Re)Presenting Women, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 16, 2001–January 13, 2002.
D'une colonie à une collection: le Musée d'Art Américain Giverny fête ses dix ans (From a Colony to a Collection: Celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of the Musée d'Art Américain Giverny), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, March 30–June 16, 2002.
A Place on the Avenue: Terra Museum of American Art Celebrates 15 Years in Chicago, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 16, 2002–February 16, 2003.
Collection Cameo, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, January 2003.
The People Work: American Perspectives, 1840–1940 (Le Travail à l'oeuvre: les artistes américains, 1840-1940), Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venues: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, March 15–May 25, 2003; Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, June 8–August 17, 2003. [exh. cat.]
Visages de l'Amérique: de George Washington à Marilyn Monroe (Faces of America: From George Washington to Marilyn Monroe), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 31, 2004. [exh. cat.]
Twarze Ameryki: Portrety z kolekcji Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940 (Faces of America: Portraits from the collection of the Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France and Miedzynarodowe Centrum Kultury (International Cultural Center), Cracow, Poland (organizers). Venue: International Cultural Center, Cracow, Poland, February 15–May 7, 2006. [exh. cat.]
An American Experiment: George Bellows and the Ashcan Painters, National Gallery, London, United Kingdom and Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizers). Venue: National Gallery, London, United Kingdom, March 3– May 30, 2011. [exh. cat.]
George Bellows, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC in association with Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York, and Royal Academy of Arts, London, United Kingdom (organizers). Venues: National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, June 10–October 8, 2012; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York, November 14, 2012–February 18, 2013; Royal Academy of Arts, London, United Kingdom. [exh. cat.] (exhibited in Washington and New York only).
Christie's at Rockefeller Center, New York, New York (Sale Amon-9156, May 26, 1999): lot 79. Ill. lot 79, p. 117 (color).
Cartwright, Derrick R. and Paul J. Karlstrom. American Moderns, 1900–1950. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2000. Pl. 4, p. 31 (color).
Cartwright, Derrick R. and Paul J. Karlstrom. L'Amérique et les modernes, 1900–1950. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2000. Pl. 4, p. 31 (color).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. An American Point of View: The Daniel J. Terra Collection. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 148, 154, 191; ill. pp. 10 (color), 149 (color), 191 (black & white).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. Un regard transatlantique. La collection d'art américain de Daniel J. Terra. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 148, 154, 191; ill. pp. 10 (color), 149 (color), 191 (black & white).
Kennedy, Elizabeth. "The Terra Museum of American Art." American Art Review (December 2002): 126–41. Text p. 140.
Kennedy, Elizabeth. Nude Girl, Miss Leslie Hall, George Bellows. Collection Cameo sheet, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, January 2003. Ill. (color).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. The People Work: American Perspectives, 1840–1940. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2003. Text pp. 24, 27 (checklist); ill. p. 49 (color).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. Le Travail à l'oeuvre: les artistes américains, 1840-1940. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2003. Text pp. 24, 27 (checklist); ill. p. 49 (color).
Kennedy, Elizabeth and Sophie Lévy. Faces of America: Portraits of the Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, 1770–1940. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2004. Text pp. 18, 30 (checklist); ill. p. 58 (color).
Kennedy, Elizabeth and Sophie Lévy. Visages de l'Amérique: le portrait dans la collection de la Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1770–1940. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2004. Text pp. 18, 30 (checklist); ill. p. 58 (color).
Lévy, Sophie, et al. Twarze Ameryki: Portrety z kolekcji Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940/Faces of America: Portraits from the collection of the Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940. (exh. cat. International Cultural Center). Cracow, Poland: International Cultural Center, 2006. Text pp. 24–25, 112; ill. p. 113 (color).
Duncan, James. "The Ashcan School: An American Rebellion." American Artist (September 2011): 22–29. Ill. p. 27.
Brock, Charles, editor, Sarah Cash, Mark Cole, Robert Conway, David Peters Corbett, David Park Curry, Marianne Doezmana, Sarah Newman, Glenn C. Peck, Carol Troyen, Sean Wilentz, and Melissa Wolfe. George Bellows. (exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC). Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 2012. Text, p. 50; ill. pl. 14, p. 67 (color).
Werbel, Amy. "The Crime of the Nude: Anthony Comstock, the Art Students League of New York, and the Origins of Modern American Obscenity." Winterthur Portfolio 48:4 (Winter 2014): 249–282. Text p. 275; ill. fig. 24, p. 278 (color).
Sansom Foundation, Inc. The World of William Glackens, Vol. 2. West Haven, CT: GHP Media. Distributed by ARTBOOK/D.A.P., 2017. Text, pp. 116; ill. p. 116 (color).
Cartwright, Derrick R. and Paul J. Karlstrom. American Moderns, 1900–1950. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2000. Pl. 4, p. 31 (color).
Cartwright, Derrick R. and Paul J. Karlstrom. L'Amérique et les modernes, 1900–1950. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2000. Pl. 4, p. 31 (color).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. An American Point of View: The Daniel J. Terra Collection. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 148, 154, 191; ill. pp. 10 (color), 149 (color), 191 (black & white).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. Un regard transatlantique. La collection d'art américain de Daniel J. Terra. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 148, 154, 191; ill. pp. 10 (color), 149 (color), 191 (black & white).
Kennedy, Elizabeth. "The Terra Museum of American Art." American Art Review (December 2002): 126–41. Text p. 140.
Kennedy, Elizabeth. Nude Girl, Miss Leslie Hall, George Bellows. Collection Cameo sheet, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, January 2003. Ill. (color).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. The People Work: American Perspectives, 1840–1940. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2003. Text pp. 24, 27 (checklist); ill. p. 49 (color).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. Le Travail à l'oeuvre: les artistes américains, 1840-1940. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2003. Text pp. 24, 27 (checklist); ill. p. 49 (color).
Kennedy, Elizabeth and Sophie Lévy. Faces of America: Portraits of the Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, 1770–1940. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2004. Text pp. 18, 30 (checklist); ill. p. 58 (color).
Kennedy, Elizabeth and Sophie Lévy. Visages de l'Amérique: le portrait dans la collection de la Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1770–1940. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2004. Text pp. 18, 30 (checklist); ill. p. 58 (color).
Lévy, Sophie, et al. Twarze Ameryki: Portrety z kolekcji Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940/Faces of America: Portraits from the collection of the Terra Foundation for American Art, 1770–1940. (exh. cat. International Cultural Center). Cracow, Poland: International Cultural Center, 2006. Text pp. 24–25, 112; ill. p. 113 (color).
Duncan, James. "The Ashcan School: An American Rebellion." American Artist (September 2011): 22–29. Ill. p. 27.
Brock, Charles, editor, Sarah Cash, Mark Cole, Robert Conway, David Peters Corbett, David Park Curry, Marianne Doezmana, Sarah Newman, Glenn C. Peck, Carol Troyen, Sean Wilentz, and Melissa Wolfe. George Bellows. (exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC). Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 2012. Text, p. 50; ill. pl. 14, p. 67 (color).
Werbel, Amy. "The Crime of the Nude: Anthony Comstock, the Art Students League of New York, and the Origins of Modern American Obscenity." Winterthur Portfolio 48:4 (Winter 2014): 249–282. Text p. 275; ill. fig. 24, p. 278 (color).
Sansom Foundation, Inc. The World of William Glackens, Vol. 2. West Haven, CT: GHP Media. Distributed by ARTBOOK/D.A.P., 2017. Text, pp. 116; ill. p. 116 (color).