Frederick William MacMonnies, American, 1863–1937; cast by oman Bronze Works, New York, New York, active 1897–1980s; Pan of Rohallion (detail), 1890; bronze; 29 x 10 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Bequest of Cora E. Ludwig 1832:1981
Though its roots date to ancient Greece, the first modern, international Olympic Games started in 1896 in Athens. From the earliest planning stages, a somewhat unlikely (by current standards) event was in the running: artistic competitions.
Pierre de Coubertin—often called the founder of the modern Olympics—planned to include artistic competitions in addition to athletics, inspired by the ancient games, which included heraldry and trumpeting competitions alongside sporting contests. After years of planning and preparation, the first Olympic art competitions were held at the 1912 games in Stockholm, Sweden. The art competitions remained a fixture of the Olympic Games until the late 1940s.
After the competitions, the artworks were returned to the competitors, who were free to do with them as they pleased, including selling them. A majority of the competing and winning artworks have been lost to time. While the Saint Louis Art Museum doesn’t have any known Olympic entries, some of the winning artists have other works in the Museum’s collection.
Renée Sintenis, German, 1888–1965; cast by Bildgiesserei Hermann Noack, Berlin, Germany; Daphne, 1930; bronze; 56 3/8 x 12 1/4 x 10 5/8 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Museum Purchase 672:1949
Renée Sintenis represented Germany in 1928, receiving a bronze medal for her sculpture Footballeur. Another of her sculptures, Daphne, is on view in Caro Nichols Holmes Gallery 214.
Frederick William MacMonnies represented the United Stated in 1932, winning a silver medal in the category of reliefs and medallions for his Lindbergh Medal. Several of his works, including the sculptures Pan of Rohallion and Young Faun with Heron are part of the SLAM collection.
Frederick William MacMonnies, American, 1863–1937; cast by Roman Bronze Works, New York, New York, active 1897–1980s; Pan of Rohallion, 1890; bronze; 29 x 10 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Bequest of Cora E. Ludwig 1832:1981
Frederick William MacMonnies, American, 1863–1937; cast by E Gruet Jeune, Paris, France, 1891–closed 1904; Young Faun with Heron, 1890; bronze; 27 1/4 x 15 1/2 x 10 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Museum Purchase 77:1927
Acee Blue Eagle, whose Love Flute Song was recently on view in the 2024 SLAM exhibition Native American Art of the 20th Century: The William P. Healey Collection, also entered the 1932 games representing the United States. His work entitled Indian Ball Game received an honorable mention in the watercolor and drawing category.
Wilhelm Hunt Diederich entered both the painting and sculpture competitions on behalf of the United States in 1932, receiving an honorable mention for his statue Polo. His Salamander Fire Screen entered SLAM’s collection in 2009.
Acee Blue Eagle, Muscogee and American, 1907–1959; Love Flute Song, mid-20th century; commercial tempera and ink on paper board; 14 5/8 x 11 5/8 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, The William P. Healey Collection of Native American Art 328:2023; © Estate of Acee Blue Eagle
Wilhelm Hunt Diederich, American (born Hungary), 1884–1953; Salamander Fire Screen, 1925; wrought iron; 29 1/2 x 57 x 3 1/2 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Richard Brumbaugh Trust in memory of Richard Irving Brumbaugh and Grace Lischer Brumbaugh 24:2009
The first Olympic art competitions, at the 1912 games, had only five categories: architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture, sometimes referred to as “The Pentathlon of the Muses.” There were two main requirements for submission: Entries could not have been exhibited prior to the competition, and all entries had to be about sports. Interestingly, the athletics depicted did not have to be sports that competed at the Olympics. The first gold medal for painting ever awarded went to Italian Carlo Pellegrini for a tripartite wall frieze titled Winter Sports some 12 years before the first Olympic winter games.
After the first games, which saw limited entries, mostly by Europeans, the arts competitions were subdivided into multiple categories starting in 1920, when the games resumed after a hiatus during World War I. The judges had found it difficult to judge a medallion against a sculpture, a drawing against a painting, or a score for an orchestra against a piece for one vocalist. As with athletics, new competitions were added and others removed at each Olympics.
The art competitions faced difficulty throughout. The judges sometimes felt that the entries received were not at the level they expected and would subsequently decline to hand out awards in some categories. For example, the 1928 games saw a silver medal awarded for dramatic literature to Lauro De Bosis’s Icaro, but no awards at the gold or bronze level. Rudolf Simonsen received a bronze medal for his orchestral composition Symphony No. 2, Hellas, but no gold or silver medals were given out in that category. Other years saw so many quality entries that honorable mentions were employed in addition to gold, silver, and bronze medals. In 1932, the Statues category winners included three medalists and seven honorable mentions.
From the modern Olympics inception, and until the 1980s, the International Olympic Committee maintained a strict rule that all competitors must be amateurs. Any athlete found to have accepted sponsorships or competed for money was disqualified or stripped of their medals. With artists, composers, and writers, this distinction became harder to make. Interpretation of this rule caused friction among IOC members.
Further, there was disagreement over who would select the entries for the competitions: Most countries felt their own Olympic committees should have the final decision, but some members of the IOC thought they should have a say in all selections. Infighting among committee members eventually led to the end of the art competitions after the 1948 Olympics. Efforts were made to revive the art competitions in 1952 and 1956 but failed due to lack of agreement among IOC members.
For more information, check out The Forgotten Olympic Art Competitions: The Story of the Olympic Art Competitions of the 20th Century by Richard Stanton.