The Shower-Bath

1917

George Bellows

Associated Names
George Bellows

Artist, American, 1882 - 1925

This is a grayscale print of a bathhouse interior. The scene shows a detailed depiction of individuals engaged in various bathing and grooming activities. The room is bustling with activity; some individuals are swimming or emerging from a pool with a diving board on the left, while others are standing or sitting at the edge of the pool, or conversing or drying off with towels on the right. In the background there are showers and dressing areas. The occupants all appear to be men, although some are only partially visible. They are all partially or entirely nude, and they all have light skin with various hairstyles and forms of facial hair. The ground is black, while the walls of the room are light gray.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    lithograph in black on wove paper

  • Credit Line

    Purchased as the Gift of Max N. Berry

  • Dimensions

    image: 40.01 × 60.33 cm (15 3/4 × 23 3/4 in.)
    sheet: 55.88 × 80.01 cm (22 × 31 1/2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2017.102.1

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Mason 1992, no. 45, i/iii


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Catherine E. Burns Fine Prints, Berkeley, California); NGA purchase 2017

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2018

  • Sense of Humor: Caricature, Satire, and the Comical in Prints and Drawings from Leonardo to the Present, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2018 - 2019.

Bibliography

1977

  • Mason, Lauris. The Lithographs of George Bellows: A Catalogue Raisonné. Millwood, NY, 1977, no. 45.

1992

  • Mason, Lauris. The Lithographs of George Bellows: A Catalogue Raisonné. San Francisco, 1992: pp. 94-97, no. 45, i/iii.

2010

  • Katz, Jonathan D. and David C. Ward,Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture Exh cat., National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC, 2010, pl. 8.

Inscriptions

lower left in graphite: No. 3; lower center in graphite: Shower Bath; lower right in graphite: Geo. Bellows ESB

Wikidata ID

Q77260750

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