Dempsey and Firpo

George Bellows (1882-1925)
Dempsey and Firpo
Lithograph, 1923-1924
Prints and Photographs Division (206.1)

George Bellows (1882-1925)
Dempsey Through the Ropes
Lithograph, 1923-1924
Prints & Photographs Division
Pennell Fund Purchase (206.2)

On September 14, 1923, boxers Jack Dempsey and Luis Firpo fought at the Polo Grounds in New York. American artist George Bellows captures the moment Firpo sent his opponent over the ropes and into the press box below. The image quickly became an American classic. During Word War II, the U.S. Armed Forces commissioned a photographic facsimile of the print for distribution to soldiers in camps and hospitals. Bellows has included his self-portrait in the lower left corner of the print.

The composition seen here closes in tight to focus attention on the fighters. During World War II, the U.S. Armed Forces commissioned a photographic facsimile of the second (nearly-identical) lithograph for distribution to soldiers in U.S. Armed Forces camps and hospitals. Although Bellows was a ringside observer, artistic integrity was a primary concern and he was widely criticized for showing the right-handed fighter punching from his left.