George Bellows at the National Gallery of Art

There's so much more to George Bellows' homoeroticism than those boxing paintings. Above is a detail from his 42 Kids, which is basically the first oil you see upon entering the excellent show at the National Gallery of Art in DC. Later you see his bathhouse sketch, which was a memorable part of Hide/Seek. Obviously, the married Bellows gravitated toward masculine venues, but beyond that I think a case can be made that he sought queer spaces even in his gorgeous depopulated landscapes of New York at its edge and its fringe. Probably it's just me and my jetlag, but doesn't his wife Emma look like she knows something? The exhibit stays up through October 8. If you can't go, get the catalog, whose cover says a lot.