The sand team

Bellows, George, 1882-1925 · [ca. 1919]

The original oil painting, bearing the same title, is owned by the Brooklyn Museum. (Bellows) / In the summer of 1917, Bellows was commissioned to do a portrait of Paul Clark, the son of a wealthy mine owner in San Mateo, California. Bellows went out west, rented a house at the artists' colony in Carmel, and sent for Emma and their two daughters. Having purchased his first car, Bellows was able to explore the colorful, rich landscape of the West Coast near Carmel, and enjoyed an even more thorough view of the scenery when he drove to San Mateo to do the portrait. Several paintings came from impressions gathered at this time, but "Sand Team," a view of men loading sand onto horse-drawn wagons at the waters edge, is one of only two lithographs inspired by the trip. The other is "Well at Quevado" (M. 70). Neither print is listed in the artist's record book. (Mason)