It is an unusual thing that a sculptor of great gift restricts himself to portraying but one, small niche in the vast world of nature. Perhaps an artist finds a particular subject to be such an unfathomable wellspring of inspiration and one so rich in poetry that he simply cannot tear himself away and spends a lifetime of artistic energies in a kind of creative embrace with the object.

Such an artist was Maryland sculptor, Ethel Painter Hood. She spent her creative life in the forceful, vigorous portrayal of men in the boxing ring.

Hood was a native of Baltimore who studied at the best institutions and with the best mentors. She worked with George Bridgman and Henri Laurens in New York City at the Art Students League, the Maryland Institute and at the Académie Julian in Paris.

The artist was very distinguished in her career and was a fellow of the National Sculpture Society. Her work was exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery and at the National Academy of Design between 1940 and 1948. She was given a solo show by the Karl Freund Art Gallery in New York City in 1939. Her works stood in the Baltimore Museum between 1933 and 1946. She was awarded a solo medal at the Wolfe Art Club in 1954. At the time of her death in 1982, Hood's sculptures had taken their place in numerous American collections including those at Rockefeller Center and Radio City in New York and at Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina.