“Men of the Docks” by George Bellows

“Men of the Docks” by George Bellows depicts a group of men wearing overcoats, standing at a dock in Brooklyn, New York City, together with some draught horses.

A steam liner looms over them to their right, and in the center is a tugboat. The waters are iced up by winter, and in the background are the skyscrapers of the lower Manhattan skyline.

The winter weather seems bleak and grey as the men look for work at the docks. The men are looking to the left, and we can only speculate about what has drawn their attention.

Is it news that no work is available or a notice that the men are required for labor.

In the early 20th century, day laborers in the New York docks worked depending on the availability of ships to unload, and thus when not working, they often stood nearby, waiting for news that there was work.

This painting is a significant example of Bellows’ treatment of the subject in which he emphasizes the precariousness of the laborers’ situation.

George Bellows

George Bellows was an American realist painter known for his bold depictions of urban life in New York City.

Bellows was part of the Ashcan School, which was an artistic movement in the United States during the early 20th century.

It is best known for works portraying scenes of daily life in New York, often in the city’s more impoverished neighborhoods.

The movement has been seen as symbolic of the spirit of political rebellion of the period.

Men of the Docks

Title: Men of the Docks
Artist: George Bellows
Date: 1912
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: Height: 114.3 cm (45 in); Width: 161.3 cm (63.5 in)
Museum: National Gallery, London

George Bellows

Name: George Wesley Bellows
Born: 1882 – Columbus, Ohio USA
Died: 1925 (aged 42) – New York City, NY USA
Nationality: American
Movement: Ashcan School, American realism
Notable Works:
- Cliff Dwellers
- Men of the Docks

“Men of the Docks” by George Bellows

Explore The National Gallery

13th Century Paintings

“The Virgin and Child Enthroned, with Narrative Scenes” by Margarito d’Arezzo – 1264
“The Virgin and Child” by Master of the Clarisse – 1268
“Crucifix” by Master of Saint Francis – 1270

14th Century Paintings

Wilton Diptych – 1395
“The Annunciation” by Duccio – 1311
“The Healing of the Man born Blind” by Duccio – 1311

15th Century Paintings

“Arnolfini Portrait” by Jan van Eyck – 1434
“The Battle of San Romano” by Paolo Uccello– 1440
“Venus and Mars” by Sandro Botticelli – 1483
“Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan” by Giovanni Bellini– 1501

16th Century Paintings

“Mystic Nativity” by Sandro Botticelli – 1550
“Virgin of the Rocks” by Leonardo da Vinci – 1506
“The Madonna of the Pinks” by Raphael – 1507
“The Raising of Lazarus” by Sebastiano del Piombo– 1519
“Salvator Mundi” by Andrea Previtali – 1519
“Bacchus and Ariadne” by Titian – 1523
“The Ambassadors” by Hans Holbein the Younger – 1533
“Mary Magdalene” by Girolamo Savoldo – 1540
“Saint George and the Dragon” by Tintoretto – 1558
“The Family of Darius before Alexander” by Paolo Veronese – 1567
“Diana and Actaeon” by Titian – 1569
“The Rape of Europa” by Paolo Veronese – 1570
“The Death of Actaeon” by Titian – 1575
“The Origin of the Milky Way” by Tintoretto – 1575

17th Century Paintings

“Supper at Emmaus” by Caravaggio – 1601
“Samson and Delilah” by Peter Paul Rubens – 1610
“The Judgement of Paris” by Peter Paul Rubens – 1635
“Aurora abducting Cephalus” by Peter Paul Rubens – 1637
“Equestrian Portrait of Charles I” by Anthony van Dyck – 1638
“Venus at her Mirror” by Diego Velázquez – 1651
“Self Portrait at the Age of 63” by Rembrandt – 1669
“A Young Woman standing at a Virginal” by Johannes Vermeer – 1670

18th Century Paintings

“Bacchus and Ariadne” by Sebastiano Ricci – 1713
“A Regatta on the Grand Canal” by Canaletto – 1740
“Mr. and Mrs. Andrews” by Thomas Gainsborough – 1749
“Eton College” by Canaletto – 1754
“An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump” by Joseph Wright of Derby – 1768
“Self-portrait in a Straw Hat” by Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun – 1782

19th Century Paintings

“Portrait of Doña Isabel de Porcel” by Francisco Goya – 1805
“The Emperor Napoleon I” by Horace Vernet – 1815
“Dido Building Carthage” by J. M. W. Turner – 1815
“Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows” by John Constable – 1831
“The Execution of Lady Jane Grey” by Paul Delaroche – 1833
“The Fighting Temeraire” by Joseph Mallord William Turner – 1839
“Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway” by J. M. W. Turner – 1844
“Cimabue’s Celebrated Madonna is carried in Procession through the Streets of Florence” by Frederic Leighton – 1855
“Madame Moitessier” by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres– 1856
“The Gare St-Lazare” by Claude Monet – 1877
“Bathers at Asnières” by Georges Seurat – 1884
“Sunflowers” by Vincent van Gogh – 1888
“After the Bath, Woman Drying Herself” by Edgar Degas – 1895
“Boulevard Montmartre at Night” by Camille Pissarro – 1898