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"Boxer's Rubdown", Extraordinary Painting with Nude Male by Philip Leslie Hale

$27,500
£20,710.44
€24,198.57
CA$38,962.91
A$39,135.89
CHF 22,692.09
MX$477,498.68
NOK 262,612.43
SEK 269,454.02
DKK 180,894.31

About the Item

At a time when painters were increasingly drawn to the grit, emotion and drama of boxing in America -- witness famous paintings and prints by George Bellows and Robert Riggs, for example -- this near life size example of a young boxer being rubbed down by a Black youth shows a more sensual and lyrical side of the sport. Here, the painter Philip Leslie Hale places the boxer facing away from the viewer, the strength and softness of his physique fully on display. He is being rubbed down with oil the day before the fight, his body in a classic contrapposto position which echoes painting and sculpture going back to the Renaissance. The poetic position of the boxer contrasts with the no nonsense pose of his manager, seated to one side with a cigar in his mouth and a newspaper spread on his lap, facing away from the fighter and ignoring the scene. Hale was born in Boston, graduated from Harvard, studied at the Museum School, the New York Art Students’ League and the Académie Julian and the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. He exhibited at the Art Club in Boston, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and the National Academy of Design, and taught at several institutions over many years. This painting was exhibited by the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the Society of American Artists. It is oil on canvas, and maintains its original, heavy frame. Remnants of two exhibition labels survive on the reverse. Over the years, the painting has been sold at Sotheby's and Christie's.
  • Creator:
    Philip Leslie Hale (Painter)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 58.5 in (148.59 cm)Width: 40.5 in (102.87 cm)Depth: 2.5 in (6.35 cm)
  • Style:
    Belle Époque (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
    1910-1919
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1916
  • Condition:
  • Seller Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU865147172902

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