Billy Sunday

Object Details

Artist

George Wesley Bellows, 12 Aug 1882 - 8 Jan 1925

Sitter

Billy Sunday, 19 Nov 1862 - 6 Nov 1935

Exhibition Label

Born Ames, Iowa

In 1891, Billy Sunday, the star left-fielder for the Philadelphia Phillies, was offered a contract paying him considerably more money per month than an industrial worker would earn in a year. But he left the game—for considerably less money—to become an evangelist and Bible teacher for the YMCA. Converted four years previously and having heard the call, Sunday would go on to become one of America’s most popular evangelists. Although his career waned in the 1920s, he was still in demand, and he traveled and preached until his death, eventually reaching more than 100 million people. Ironically, Sunday’s gifts as a preacher eventually earned him more fame and money than baseball.

In this lithograph, George Bellows, the great realist of the early twentieth century, captures the fiery, spiritual intensity of Sunday’s oratory skills by emphasizing his forceful gesture—one that delights his audience and charges the whole scene with a celestial glow.

Credit Line

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

1923

Object number

NPG.74.69

Restrictions & Rights

CC0

Type

Print

Medium

Lithograph on paper

Dimensions

Sheet: 40 × 55.9 cm (15 3/4 × 22")

Mat: 55.9 × 71.1 cm (22 × 28")

See more items in

National Portrait Gallery Collection

National Portrait Gallery

Topic

Interior\Church

Equipment\Podium

Human Figures\Crowd

Billy Sunday: Male

Billy Sunday: Sports and Recreation\Athlete\Baseball

Billy Sunday: Religion and Spirituality\Clergy\Evangelist

Portrait

Record ID

npg_NPG.74.69

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm48c826298-40cb-4fed-9a63-f5f0b697269b