| 1882 |
Born in Columbus, Ohio. |
| 1897 |
Enters Central High in Columbus, Ohio. |
| 1901 |
Enrolls at Ohio State University and drawings begin to appear in student publications. |
| 1904 |
Leaves college and goes to New York City to enroll in the Chase School of Art. Studies with Robert Henri. |
| 1905 |
Paints Central Park. |
| 1907 |
River Rats is exhibited at the National Academy of Design. Makes first boxing picture. |
| 1908 |
Exhibition of The Eight opens at the MacBeth Gallery. Paints North River and wins the second Hallgarten Prize at the National Academy of Design show. |
| 1909 |
Sells North River to Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Paints Stag at Sharkey's. |
| 1910 |
Exhibits in the Independent Artists Exhibition. Appointed life class instructor at Art Students League. Marries Emma Story. |
| 1911 |
One man show at Madison Gallery. Organizes an exhibition of The Eight. |
| 1912 |
Accepts commissions for magazine illustrations. Has one man show in Columbus. |
| 1913 |
Works on installation of Armory Show and is too busy to paint. Exhibits Little Girl in White at National Academy of Design where he receives the Hallgarten Prize and become a full Academician. |
| 1914 |
Has exhibits at Montross Gallery and three major museums. |
| 1915 |
Furor over Olney portrait at Harvard Club, including disagreement over whether he should be paid. |
| 1916 |
Makes first lithographs. |
| 1917 |
One man show at Milch Galleries. |
| 1918 |
Begins a series of lithographs and oils depicting German atrocities during WWI. |
| 1919 |
Has exhibit at Knoedler & Co. and sells several paintings. Has an exhibit at Albright Art Gallery and in Chicago where he is teaching. |
| 1920 |
Spends most of his time painting. |
| 1921 |
Has an exhibit with Thomas Eakins at Ferargil Galleries. |
| 1922 |
Sells Stag at Sharkey's to Cleveland Museum of Art. Builds house in Woodstock. Starts to paint in earnest again. |
| 1923 |
His mother dies. Makes over 40 lithographs. |
| 1924 |
Goes to Woodstock and starts to paint again. |
| 1925 |
Appendix ruptures on Jan. 2 and dies of peritonitis(Jan. 8). |
At the abrupt end of his truncated career, Bellows was a much more complex artist then he had been when he painted the classic youthful works for which he has been remembered. His skills, sophistication of style, and knowledge of methods were incomparably greater. His growth in these areas, step by step, had been based upon thorough theoretical understanding that led him to constantly to new forms of expression. Often modern critics and art lovers mistrust the efforts of artists who think too much. They fear that technical knowledge comprises spontaneity, that theoretical correctness can distract the artist from more important goals, such as beauty. These theories of composition and color preoccupied Bellows from about 1910, pulling his style in one direction after another.