Autumn 2020 Preview

Autumn 14 www.afamag.com | w ww.incollect.com HAPPENINGS Monhegan Museum Acquires George Bellows Painting The Monhegan Museum of Art & History has acquired a significant painting by George Bellows (1882–1925) of one of the museum’s co-founders, Jacqueline “Jackie” Hudson (1910–2001). Hudson, the daughter of artist Eric Hudson, sat for this portrait at age four, when Bellows and many other artists would gather in her father’s home overlooking Monhegan Harbor. Painted in 1914, Jackie is one of the finest portraits by artist George Bellows and is an important addition to the museum’s collection. Bellows painted a companion portrait of her sister, Julie, at the same time, which is in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. One of the most acclaimed American artists of his generation, George Bellows was drawn to the natural beauty and rocky coastline of Maine by the invitation of his teacher Robert Henri. Bellows first visited Monhegan in 1911 and spent several summers there. Fellow artists who were also attracted to the island were Rockwell Kent, Edward Hopper, Randall Davey, and Leon Kroll. He participated in planning the groundbreaking 1913 Armory Show in Manhattan, where many of his works were exhibited. In that same year, Bellows painted Iron Coast, Monhegan, which Jacqueline Hudson donated to the museum in 1998. The year of the portrait, 1914, was Monhegan’s tercentennial, and Bellows participated in the events surrounding the event, performing in the island’s band. Jackie Hudson was a co-founder of the museum in 1968 and a painter in her own right. The museum purchased the work in July with funds donated by museum trustee Susan Bateson and her husband Stephen S. Fuller in honor of Edward L. Deci, director of the museum from 1984 to 2019. The painting will be on view at the museum during the summer of 2021. The Monhegan Museum of Art & History is located on Monhegan Island off the coast of Maine. For information, visit monheganmuseum.org or call 207.596.7003. George Wesley Bellows (American, 1882-1925), Jackie (Jacqueline Hudson), 1914. Oil on panel. 24½ x 24¾ inches Museum Purchase with funds donated by Susan Bateson and Stephen S. Fuller in honor of Edward L. Deci, Director (1984–2019).