"I saw Sullivan only once, and as I have him in this print. He was a great old Viking,
walked on his toes, conscious of his breadth of beam and vast shoulders; and he had a
smile which included the whole of humanity with himself in the center. Robert
Fitzsimmons is on the left; Willard is having his gloves adjusted for his fight with
Moran."
-George Bellows
John L. Sullivan was a former champion heavyweight who held the title from 1882-1889.
He is being introduced to the crowd just prior to a fight which took place between Jess
Willard and Frank Morana and which ended in a "No Decision." Sullivan, who had been infamous
for his drinking and brawling habits, later became a teetotaler and supported the
temperance movement.
Buy the catalogue An American Pulse: The
Lithographs of George Wesley Bellows.
