Dempsey and Firpo

Dempsey and Firpo (sometimes referred to as Dempsey Through The Ropes[1]) is an oil-on-canvas painting executed in 1923–1924 by the American artist George Bellows. It depicts the September 14, 1923, boxing match between American Jack Dempsey and Argentine Luis Firpo. It has become Bellows' most famous boxing painting.[2] The work has been in the collection of the Whitney Museum of Art since the museum's opening in 1931.[3]

George Bellows, Dempsey and Firpo (1924), Whitney Museum of American Art

The painting

The painting depicts the dramatic moment when Firpo knocked Dempsey out of the ring, despite the fact that Dempsey was the eventual winner that night. Bellows gave himself a cameo as the balding man at the extreme left of the picture.[4] The work is painted in the style of the Ashcan School movement.

The painting is referenced in The Simpsons episode "The Homer They Fall" during a montage of Homer Simpson winning boxing matches, where he and Moe Syzlak taking the poses of respectively Firpo and the referee.[5]

The painting can be seen in the 1990 film Goodfellas, where it is visible behind Jimmy Conway on the wall of Neirs Tavern during Tommy DeVito's recount of a mob hit, the scene before Maury is "whacked".[6] With some calling it the most "the most influential sports painting ever."[7]

The painting also appears briefly overhead a fireplace in the third episode of The People v. O.J. Simpson.

The fight, that is the subject of the work, is also cited by Mickey Goldmill in the movie Rocky during his visit with Rocky in which he attempts to convince Rocky to retain him as his manager.

Artist Eric Joyner reinterpreted the painting portraying two robots fighting in a painting called "The final blow".[8][9] This version can be seen as a decoration in the setting of the TV series The Big Bang Theory.[10]

The New Yorker cover for the February 7, 2022, issue[11] recasts the fighters as hockey players.

Sources
  1. Fights, Ny (2019-02-01). "Jab Hook's Boxing in Art: "Dempsey Through The Ropes" by George Bellows". NY FIGHTS. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  2. Roberts, Randy (2003). Jack Dempsey: The Manassa Mauler. University of Illinois Press. p. 200. ISBN 978-0-252-07148-5.
  3. Barra, Allen (2012-04-24). "'Dempsey and Firpo': The Greatest American Sports Painting". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  4. "Dempsey and Firpo". whitney.org. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  5. "The 'Simpsons' Guide to Art History". Flavorwire. 2012-04-04. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  6. "Homer Simpson, 'Goodfellas,' and the Most Influential Sports Painting Ever". Uni Watch. 16 February 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  7. Lukas, Paul. "Homer Simpson, 'Goodfellas,' and the Most Influential Sports Painting Ever". Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  8. "The Arts in San Jose, CA | 'ROBOTS: EVOLUTION OF A CULTURAL ICON' at San Jose Museum of Art". www.metrosiliconvalley.com. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  9. Joyner, Eric. "The Final Blow (2003)". ericjoyner.com. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  10. Hanks, Henry (2014-04-03). "Secrets from the set of 'Big Bang Theory' (image 7)". CNN. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  11. "Boxing Rink". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
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