Nearing the Issue at the Cockpit
1879 National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
About this artwork
This oil on canvas painting depicts a crowded scene of men gathered intensely around a cockfighting pit. The work is held in the collection of the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
Did you know?
This painting captures a tension-filled moment of a blood sport that was a common, albeit controversial, form of popular entertainment in 19th-century America. Bonham masterfully uses the varied expressions and body language of the crowd to convey the excitement and moral ambiguity surrounding the event without explicitly showing the fight itself. The inclusion of a 'Rules' sign on the wall adds a cynical touch of order to a scene defined by gambling and animal cruelty.
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Nearing the Issue at the Cockpit
Horace Bonham, 1879
