Fight Night

This oil on canvas scene by George Biddle is one heavy hitter. It pictures several boxers leaving the ring. You can just make out the silhouettes of the observers to the match in the forefront of the work. This powerful painting from 1956 is another highlight from the remarkable Pantages Portfolio being offered by The Plymouth Exchange in late September, 2018.

George Biddle (1885-1973) started out his career as a lawyer, but left the USA to study art in 1911 in Paris. He spent the next few years studying art across Europe and the USA. He enlisted as a soldier in WWI. Post war, he again traveled and painted extensively, including a 1928 sketching adventure with Diego Rivera in Mexico. In the 1930's he was instrumental in establishing the Federal Art Project - part of the WPA - through his longtime friendship with Franklin Roosevelt. He was appointed the chairman of the US Department of War's Art Advisory Committee during WWII. Biddle is best known for his thoughtful murals and combat related paintings.  These were featured at the 1939 New York World's Fair as well as pictured in Life Magazine. His most famous mural, a five panel fresco, appears in the 5th floor stairway the RFK Department of Justice Building in Washington, DC and is called Society Freed Through Justice.