1977.103 George Bellows, The Murder of Edith Cavell


GENERAL DESCRIPTION
In 1918 George Bellows produced twenty lithographs collectively known as his War series. Each work represented an event or circumstance related to reports of human suffering and atrocities committed as the German army invaded Belgium. The subject forThe Murder of Edith Cavell is the execution of a British Red Cross nurse in Brussels. When the German army occupied the Belgian capital city in 1914, Edith Cavell helped French and British soldiers and civilians evade capture and escape to neutral territories. Despite international outcry at her imprisonment and conviction, she was killed by a firing squad in the early morning of October 12, 1915. Her death became a dramatic narrative for wartime propaganda aimed at bolstering support for anti-German efforts.

Emily Schiller, Digital Collections Content Coordinator, 2015.

NOTES
Added a text entry to record possible documentation data from the object file-- Frederick Keppel & Co., Inc., New York, NY label in an archival envelope in the Collections Record Object File. The label contains the following information: No. 9345; artist's proof, stone destroyed. Information has not been verified through a secondary source.

Added series (War Series) and "7" as the plate number according to other online catalogues and the inscription. 

Found conflicting information online for the edition number- TMS states edition of 99, but a gallery site gives edition of 103.

Needs further research- Printer should likely be George Charles Miller (as added to 1937.8 Bellows, In the Park, Dark) because research suggests Miller assisted on Bellows' printing from 1916 to 1920. Some museums list Miller, others do not. Add printer to TMS. 

Added published references in both text entry field and bibliographic module:
Jane Myers and Linda Ayres, George Bellows: The Artist and His Lithographs 1916-1924 (Ft. Worth, TX: Amon Carter Museum, 1988), 178.
Emma Bellows, cat #11.

"Everybody's Magazine" October 1918. [Final image reproduced.]

"Vanity Fair" November 1918. [Final image reproduced.]

Could find better digital copy in the future- Edith Cavell, September 1918. oil on canvas. 45 x 63 in. Inscribed lower left, Geo. Bellows/E.S.B. Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, Massachusetts, The James Philip Gray Collection. https://mydailyartdisplay.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/edith-cavell-by-george-bellows-1918.jpg

Related object, copy put in object file:
Black chalk and black crayon over charcoal on cream wove paper, 21 1/16 x 26 15/16in. (53.5 x 68.5 cm), Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, New Jersey.

Removed TMS tag because rule exists.

This note was routed and revised by Sue and those changes have been made in Evernote. I am removing the routed tag and adding the completed tag because the GDoc has been moved to Queta's folder for review.

Catalogue essays

Artist/designers

Cultures

Geography

Process/materials

Historical periods

Individuals

Subject terms
night
oil lamps
railing
stairs
figures
men
uniforms
prison guards
sleeping
shadow
murder
crime
war
nurse
propaganda
series
soldiers
execution

RELATED OBJECTS

PROVENANCE
n.d.: (father of John L. Hauer) [1]
Before 1977: John L. Hauer, Dallas, TX, by inheritance
After 1977: Dallas Museum of Art, gift from the above

[1] Notes in the Collections Records Object File suggest that the print was purchased from Frederick Keppel & Co., New York, NY at some point in its history. No documentation for its acquisition by the Hauer family is in the file.

AUDIO ASSETS

VIDEO ASSETS

IMAGE ASSETS

WEB RESOURCES

ARCHIVAL RESOURCES

FUN FACTS
  • The man who generously donated this print to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts in 1978, inherited the work from his father, who had been a classmate of George Bellows at Ohio State.

TEACHING IDEAS

RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1977.103

Category
rules_operator
AND
General Description
In 1918 George Bellows produced twenty lithographs collectively known as his War series. Each work represented an event or circumstance related to reports of human suffering and atrocities committed as the German army invaded Belgium. The subject forThe Murder of Edith Cavell is the execution of a British Red Cross nurse in Brussels. When the German army occupied the Belgian capital city in 1914, Edith Cavell helped French and British soldiers and civilians evade capture and escape to neutral territories. Despite international outcry at her imprisonment and conviction, she was killed by a firing squad in the early morning of October 12, 1915. Her death became a dramatic narrative for wartime propaganda aimed at bolstering support for anti-German efforts.

Emily Schiller, Digital Collections Content Coordinator, 2015.

Fun Facts
  • The man who generously donated this print to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts in 1978, inherited the work from his father, who had been a classmate of George Bellows at Ohio State.

Archival Resources

Web Resources

Notes
Added a text entry to record possible documentation data from the object file-- Frederick Keppel & Co., Inc., New York, NY label in an archival envelope in the Collections Record Object File. The label contains the following information: No. 9345; artist's proof, stone destroyed. Information has not been verified through a secondary source.

Added series (War Series) and "7" as the plate number according to other online catalogues and the inscription. 

Found conflicting information online for the edition number- TMS states edition of 99, but a gallery site gives edition of 103.

Needs further research- Printer should likely be George Charles Miller (as added to 1937.8 Bellows, In the Park, Dark) because research suggests Miller assisted on Bellows' printing from 1916 to 1920. Some museums list Miller, others do not. Add printer to TMS. 

Added published references in both text entry field and bibliographic module:
Jane Myers and Linda Ayres, George Bellows: The Artist and His Lithographs 1916-1924 (Ft. Worth, TX: Amon Carter Museum, 1988), 178.
Emma Bellows, cat #11.

"Everybody's Magazine" October 1918. [Final image reproduced.]

"Vanity Fair" November 1918. [Final image reproduced.]

Could find better digital copy in the future- Edith Cavell, September 1918. oil on canvas. 45 x 63 in. Inscribed lower left, Geo. Bellows/E.S.B. Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, Massachusetts, The James Philip Gray Collection. https://mydailyartdisplay.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/edith-cavell-by-george-bellows-1918.jpg

Related object, copy put in object file:
Black chalk and black crayon over charcoal on cream wove paper, 21 1/16 x 26 15/16in. (53.5 x 68.5 cm), Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, New Jersey.

Removed TMS tag because rule exists.

This note was routed and revised by Sue and those changes have been made in Evernote. I am removing the routed tag and adding the completed tag because the GDoc has been moved to Queta's folder for review.

Catalogue essays

Artist/designers

Cultures

Geography

Process/materials

Historical periods

Individuals

Subject terms
night
oil lamps
railing
stairs
figures
men
uniforms
prison guards
sleeping
shadow
murder
crime
war
nurse
propaganda
series
soldiers
execution

RELATED OBJECTS

PROVENANCE
n.d.: (father of John L. Hauer) [1]
Before 1977: John L. Hauer, Dallas, TX, by inheritance
After 1977: Dallas Museum of Art, gift from the above

[1] Notes in the Collections Records Object File suggest that the print was purchased from Frederick Keppel & Co., New York, NY at some point in its history. No documentation for its acquisition by the Hauer family is in the file.

AUDIO ASSETS

VIDEO ASSETS

rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1977.103
tags
#draft
#completed
figures (representations): AAT: 300189808
%Archived
men: AAT: 300025928
@Schiller
*American Art
shadows: AAT: 300056036
Brussels (Belgium): TGN: 7007868
soldiers: AAT: 300185678
New York (New York/United States): TGN: 7007567
Bellows_George Wesley: ULAN: 500003261
sleeping: AAT: 300375130
wars: AAT: 300055314
stairs: AAT: 300003228
Columbus (Ohio/United States): TGN: 7013645
lithography: AAT: 300053271
series (groups): AAT: 300027349
prison guards: AAT: 300265787
night: AAT: 300133095
crime: AAT: 300055289
murders: AAT: 300069676
handrails: AAT: 300002022
oil lamp: AAT: 300037630
uniforms: AAT: 300212393
nurses: AAT: 300156142
propaganda: AAT: 300055539
executions (events): AAT: 300069680
source file
object_notes_3_c-0199.xml.nores