Rocks and Coast

George Bellows painted Rocks and Coast in August 1911, the year of his first visit to Maine. During that summer, he accompanied fellow artists Robert Henri and Randall Davey to Monhegan, a small island located twelve miles off the state's mid-coast. Bellows was immediately captivated by Monhegan's striking topography, and he was feverishly inspired by the myriad of pictorial possibilities, writing, "The Island is endless in its wonderful variety. It's possessed of enough beauty to supply a continent." (as quoted in S. Cash, "Life at Sea, 1911-1917" in C. Brock, et al., George Bellows, Washington, D.C., 2012, p. 160) He set out with a group of small panels, producing a series of plein air paintings that he then used as the basis for larger works completed in his studio. James M. Keny writes of these panels, "This series may represent Bellows's purest attempt to isolate natural forces and to suggest through the clashing of rock and sea the ebb and flow of man's eternal struggle with life's challenges." ("Brief Garland: A Life of George Bellows," Timeline, vol. 9, nos. 5-6, October-December 1992, p. 25) As seen in Rocks and Coast, the isle's raw beauty, dramatic coastline and roiling sea provided the ideal scenery to capture in Bellows' direct, bravura style.

Rocks and Coast was purchased in 1980 by Charles Hill Morgan, the author of the 1965 monograph George Bellows: Painter of America, and has remained in his family's collection since.

To be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the paintings of George Bellows being prepared by Glenn C. Peck. An online version of the catalogue is available at www.hvallison.com.