Who painted Sixteen East Gay Street?

Sixteen East Gay Street was painted by George Bellows in 1924.

Where can I see Sixteen East Gay Street?

Sixteen East Gay Street is held by Cleveland Museum of Art.

Artwork

Sixteen East Gay Street

George Bellows , 1924

Sixteen East Gay Street is a print by George Bellows. It dates from 1924 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

About this work

Overview

Created in 1924, *Sixteen East Gay Street* is a print by American realist George Bellows. The work depicts a modest urban corner, populated by a kneeling woman repairing a bicycle, two pedestrians, and a few seated figures on a porch, all framed by a tree. Bellows renders the scene with clear, decisive lines that emphasize the ordinary rhythm of city life.

Subject & Meaning

The composition captures a fleeting moment on a New York street, focusing on everyday activity rather than grand narratives. By highlighting a woman’s practical task and the casual passage of passersby, the image reflects Bellows’s interest in the unremarkable yet persistent energy that defines metropolitan environments.

Technique & Style

Executed in a print medium, Bellows employs bold linear strokes and contrasting shading to model light and shadow across the street’s architecture and figures. The stark delineation of forms and the limited tonal range are characteristic of his realist approach, which seeks to convey the tangible texture of urban surfaces.

History & Provenance

The print was produced during Bellows’s mature period, when his focus had shifted from the more turbulent scenes of earlier work to quieter city vignettes. It entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it remains accessible for study and public viewing.

Context

At the time of its creation, New York was undergoing rapid growth, and Bellows was documenting the shifting social landscape. The work aligns with broader realist tendencies of the 1920s, which emphasized direct observation of contemporary life over romanticized or allegorical subjects.

Artist & collection

Artist

George Bellows

George Wesley Bellows (August 12 or August 19, 1882 – January 8, 1925) was an American realist painter, known for his bold depictions of urban life in New York City.