Art competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics
Art competitions were held as part of the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, Great Britain. Medals were awarded in five categories (architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture), for works inspired by sport-related themes.
The art exhibition was held at the Victoria and Albert Museum from 15 July to 14 August, and displayed works of art from 27 different countries. The literature competition attracted 44 entries, and the music competition had 36 entries.[1]
The art competitions included multiple subcategories for each of the five artistic categories.[2] The judges declined to award any medals for dramatic works in literature, and no gold medals in another five subcategories. Alex Diggelmann of Switzerland won both a silver medal and a bronze medal for two different entries in the applied arts and crafts subcategory, a feat unlikely to be duplicated in any event in the current Olympic program.
These would be the final Games in which art competitions were held, after being in the official program for all Games since 1912.[3] At a meeting of the International Olympic Committee in 1949, it was decided to hold art exhibitions instead, as it was judged illogical to permit professionals to compete in the art competitions but only amateurs were permitted to compete in sporting events.[4] Since 1952, a non-competitive art and cultural festival has been associated with each Games.
Architecture
Category | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Architectural design | ![]() "Skisprungschanze auf dem Kobenzl" |
![]() "Watersports Centre in Carinthia" |
![]() "Baths and Sporting Hall for Gothenburg" |
Town planning | ![]() "The Centre of Athletics in Varkaus, Finland" |
![]() "Swiss Federal Sports and Gymnastics Training Centre" |
![]() "The Athletic Centre in Kemi, Finland" |
Literature
Category | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Lyric works | ![]() "Laurel of Hellas" |
![]() "Six Poems" |
![]() "Rythme du Stade" |
Dramatic works | none awarded | none awarded | none awarded |
Epic works | ![]() "La Grotta" |
![]() "The Olympic Champion" |
![]() "The Well of Youth" |
Music
Category | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Vocal | none awarded | none awarded | ![]() "Inno Olimpionico" |
Instrumental and chamber | none awarded | ![]() "Divertimenti for Solo Flute and Strings" |
![]() "Toccata per Pianoforte" |
Choral and orchestral | ![]() "Olympic Symphony" |
![]() "Karhunpyynti" |
![]() "Viguer" |
Painting and graphic art
Category | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Oils and water colours | ![]() "London Amateur Championships" |
![]() "Le Pistard" |
![]() "Meath Hunt Point-to-Point Races" |
Engravings and etchings | ![]() "Swimming Pool" |
![]() "Polo Players" |
![]() "Seaside Sport" |
Applied arts and crafts | none awarded | ![]() "World Championship for Cycling Poster" |
![]() "World Championship for Ice Hockey Poster" |
Sculpture
Category | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Statues | ![]() "Homage to Ling" |
![]() "The Stag" |
![]() "Nageuse" |
Reliefs | none awarded | none awarded | ![]() "The End of the Covert" |
Medals and plaques | none awarded | ![]() "Eight Sports Plaques" |
![]() "Prize Rowing Trophy" |
Medal table
At the time, medals were awarded to these artists, but art competitions are no longer regarded as official Olympic events by the International Olympic Committee. These events do not appear in the IOC medal database,[5] and these totals are not included in the IOC's medal table for the 1948 Games.[6]
1 | ![]() |
2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
2 | ![]() |
1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
![]() |
1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | |
4 | ![]() |
1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
5 | ![]() |
1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
6 | ![]() |
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
7 | ![]() |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
8 | ![]() |
0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
9 | ![]() |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
![]() |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
11 | ![]() |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
12 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Total | 8 | 11 | 13 | 32 |
---|
References
- ^ (ed.) Lord Burghley (1951). The Official Report of the Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad (PDF). London: Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad. pp. 195–198, 535–537. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-25.
{{cite book}}
:|author=
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suggested) (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Wagner, Juergen. "Olympic Art Competition 1948 London". Olympic Games Museum. Archived from the original on 16 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
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suggested) (help) - ^ Kramer, Bernhard (2004). "In Search of the Lost Champions of the Olympic Art Contests" (PDF). Journal of Olympic History. 12 (2): pp. 29–34. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-25.
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ignored (help) - ^ Bolanaki, A. (1951). "Report on Art Exhibitions" (PDF). Bulletin du Comité International Olympique (27). Lausanne: International Olympic Committee: p. 34. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
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ignored (help) - ^ "Olympic Medal Winners". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 28 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "London 1948 Medal Table". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2008-03-26.