Description
After the drawing by George Bellows, 1923. Lithographic crayon on paper. Offered here is an archival pigment print on 100% rag paper, matted in acid-free natural white board, and framed in a heavy Italian platinum finish custom frame. This work was a preliminary version of the painting Dempsey and Firpo that hangs in the Whitney.
From Wikipedia: “The last successful title defense for Dempsey was in September 1923 at New York City’s Polo Grounds in Dempsey vs. Firpo. Attendance was 85,000, with another 20,000 trying to get inside the arena. Firpo was knocked down repeatedly by Dempsey, yet continued to battle back, even knocking Dempsey down twice. On the second occasion he was floored, Dempsey flew head-first through the ring ropes, landing on a ringside reporter’s typewriter. At this point he was out of the ring for approximately 14 seconds, less than the 20 second rule for out-of-ring knockouts. Nevertheless, he was helped back into the ring by the writers at ringside. Ultimately, Dempsey beat Argentinian contender Luis Ángel Firpo with a second-round KO. The fight was transmitted live by radio to Buenos Aires.”
