Miss Bentham Explained

Miss Bentham
Medium:	Oil on canvas
Artist:	George Bellows
Year:	1906
Height Metric:	182
Width Metric:	91
Owner:	Barber Institute
City:	Birmingham
Museum:	Barber Institute of Fine Arts

Miss Bentham is a 1906 oil painting by the American artist George Bellows, depicting a full length, standing, nude woman, from the rear.^[1] In 2015, it was acquired by the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in Birmingham, England.^{[2] [3]}

History

Bellows made the painting, his first nude, in 1906 and never sold it. It was still in his studio at the time of his death and was sold by his widow in 1985, to Andy Warhol. After Warhol's death in 1987, it was sold to an anonymous private collector who in turn sold it in 2015, through the dealer Collisart, to the Barber Institute. They placed it on display shortly afterwards.

The painting is the Barber's first American painting, and only the second of Bellows' works to enter a public collection in the United Kingdom.^[2]

Hugh Carslake, Chairman of the Henry Barber Trust, which purchased the picture on behalf of the Institute, said:

Notes and References

1. Web site: Splendidly sturdy George Bellows nude is bought by Barber Institute. Kennedy. Maev. 3 February 2015. The Guardian. 16 February 2015.
2. Web site: American Acquisition. Barber Institute of Fine Arts. 16 February 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150217000620/http://barber.org.uk/american-acquisition-barber/. 17 February 2015.
3. Web site: Artwork owned by Andy Warhol becomes Barber Institute's first nude. Brown. Graeme. 3 February 2015. Birmingham Post. 16 February 2015.