US artists admitted to the National Gallery for first time

After 190 years, the National Gallery has made changes to its rules accepting works of American painters.

06:22 10 February 2014

The National Gallery has revised its rules ending a 190-year-old policy of showcasing only European artists. This paved the way for the works of American painters. The gallery has recently announced that it has acquired Men of the Docks by George Bellows for $25.5million. 

 

Bellows is one of the greatest American artists at the early 20th century who became well-known for this depictions of blue-collar New York. 

 

Dr Nicholas Penny, director of the National Gallery, said: “Twenty years ago, there was a slight snobbery among lovers of European art. American painters were not taken as seriously.

 

“I think it’s high time we all realised that American painting is part of an American tradition but also part of the story of Western art. This acquisition makes that very clear.

 

“It will be a really exciting new thing for visitors to see, and this work really does hold its own in the most exalted company.”

 

He added: “Bellows has almost always been seen in the context of American painting, but the way he painted owed much to Manet, and his depiction of the violence and victims of New York derived from Goya and earlier Spanish art.

 

“He will seem as modern and original as ever in the National Gallery, but our visitors – many of them from North America – will understand him in a different way.

 

“We are thrilled to have been able to purchase this painting.”