George Wesley Bellows

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)