The Sawdust Trail

Maker George Wesley Bellows (American, 1882 - 1925)

ClassificationsPRINTS

Date1917

Mediumlithograph

Dimensionsimage: 25 1/4 x 19 15/16 in. (64.1 x 50.6 cm.) frame: 35 3/4 x 30 in. (90.8 x 76.2 cm.)

DescriptionLarge crowd of people; several fainting women

SignedSigned in lower right of recto in graphite: Geo Bellows / J.B.B.

InscribedSigned in lower right of recto in graphite: Geo Bellows / J.B.B. Inscribed in lower left of recto in graphite: No 55 Inscribed in lower center of recto in ink: The Sawdust Trail Typewritten on label affixed to lower center of frame verso: AESTHETIC / FRAME / DESIGN / fitted and / inspected by ___ / ____ / Date / 1273 East Sixth Street / Los Angeles, CA 90021 213/ 622-3331 Inscribed on label affixed to lower center of frame verso in ink: Gilberto B. / 4/17/90

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Gift of Hannah S. Kully

Status

Not on view

Label TextIn 1915, Metropolitan Magazine sent Bellows and journalist John Reed to Philadelphia to cover the revival meeting of Billy Sunday, the most popular Christian evangelist of the early twentieth century. The large audience gave Bellows the opportunity to observe the behavior of crowds and to depict people in extreme emotional states. The Sawdust Trail concentrates on the worshippers. A man on the left reaches up to shake Billy Sunday's hand.

Object number2014.30.23