The actress

Bellows, George, 1882-1925 · 1923–1924

Bellows lived in close proximity to aspiring young actors and actresses during his first years in New York. After their marriage, Emma and George Bellows were enthusiastic patrons of opera and theater, both of which were easily accessible from their home near Gramercy Park. When Everett Shinn, a member of the group of artists later to be known as "The Eight," organized a theater in his backyard on Waverly Place, the Bellowses were active participants in designing sets and arranging music for Shinn's parodies popular melodramas of the day. The actress portrayed in this lithograph may well have been a character in the play "Abraham Lincoln" by John Drinkwater, which opened in New York in 1919 and had a long and successful run. The action took place in 1860. (Mason)