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The Documentary: Moving Pictures: Moving Pictures: Men of the Docks by George Bellows

Men of the Docks by George Bellows

24/01/2018 GMT

Moving Pictures: Men of the Docks by George Bellows

Moving Pictures

BBC World Service - The Documentary, Moving Pictures, Moving Pictures: Men of the Docks by George Bellows

George Bellow’s masterpiece Men of the Docks reveals life in the Brooklyn docks in 1912

George Bellow’s masterpiece Men of the Docks reveals life in the Brooklyn docks in 1912.

Cathy FitzGerald  takes us to the Brooklyn docks in New York on an icy day in 1912. That is the setting for George Bellow’s Men of the Docks, an extraordinary masterpiece from the collection of The National Gallery, London. The picture shows longshoremen waiting for work in the steely shadow of a cargo ship. Get up close and see how Bellows creates his cold and misty world -  working quickly and fearlessly and using brushes, knives, even his fingers to manipulate the paint. Cathy hears why the artist wanted his masterpiece on display to greet the arrival in New York of the greatest ship in the world – The Titanic. Use your phone, tablet or computer to move around the image and discover the extraordinary details of this great masterpiece.

(Photo: Men of the Docks by George Bellows © The National Gallery, London. Bought with a grant from the American Friends of the National Gallery, made possible by Sir Paul Getty’s fund, and by a donation from Mark Getty KBE, 2014)

The Documentary: Moving Pictures

Cathy FitzGerald invites you take some time to discover new details in an old masterpiece, using your phone, tablet or computer.

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