Lad from the Fleet
Artist
Fletcher Martin
(1904 - 1979)
Date1938
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions45 x 26 in. (114.3 x 66 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineGift of the Hilbert Collection
Object number2017.031
DescriptionBoxing was a very popular sport in the 1930s and '40s, especially among men in the armed forces. Many of the armed services encouraged their members to box and held fiercely fought matches. Fletcher Martin was a U.S. Navy boxer during his own service career in the late 1920s. This painting was likely inspired by his time in the port of Long Beach, where Navy boxing matches regularly took place. Here, Martin portrays the moments just before the match, as the young protagonist readies himself mentally for what is to come. What is he thinking? Is he sizing up his opponent, or digging deeply within himself for fortitude? His face and hands are as yet unblemished, and his corner man, wearing a sailor uniform, turns away for a moment -- leaving us to fully focus on the main character.
Look at the elaborate tattoo of a sailing ship on his chest. Consider how Martin has constructed this painting, which is based on dramatic triangles. The heavy upright triangle of the boxer himself is counterbalanced by an inner, opposing triangle formed by his hands pointing down. How many more triangles can you find?
Martin was heavily influenced by the great Mexican muralists (which you can see in this painting); in fact, he worked as an assistant to famed muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros in the early 1930s. Martin won commissions for several WPA murals.
During World War II, Martin worked as an artist-correspondent for Life magazine, painting soldiers in battle from North Africa to the Normandy invasions. Many of his paintings throughout his career depicted men in conflict: boxers, soldiers, brawling longshoremen.
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