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.[1]
![](../I/1948_Olympic_medals_mint.jpg.webp)
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.[2]
The art competitions included multiple subcategories for each of the five artistic categories.[3] 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 were the last Games in which art competitions were held, after being in the official program for all Games since 1912.[4] 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 while only amateurs were permitted to compete in sporting events.[5] 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" |
![]() "Vigeur" |
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,[6] and these totals are not included in the IOC's medal table for the 1948 Games.[7]
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 | |
Totals (13 entries) | 8 | 11 | 13 | 32 |
Events summary
Architecture
Designs for Town Planning
The following architects took part:[8]
Rank | Name | Country |
---|---|---|
1 | Yrjö Lindegren | ![]() |
2 | Edy Knupfer, Werner Schindler | ![]() |
3 | Ilmari Niemeläinen | ![]() |
AC | Jack Néel, Pierre Vago | ![]() |
Architectural designs
The following architects took part:[9]
Further entries
The following architects took part:[10]
Literature
Dramatic works
The following writers took part:[11]
Rank | Name | Country |
---|---|---|
AC | Clotilde Luisi | ![]() |
AC | José María Podestá | ![]() |
AC | Benoît Bickel | ![]() |
Epic works
The following writers took part:[12]
Rank | Name | Country |
---|---|---|
1 | Giani Stùparich | ![]() |
2 | Josef Petersen | ![]() |
3 | Éva Földes | ![]() |
AC | Hans Breidbach-Bernau | ![]() |
AC | Stanislaus Lynch | ![]() |
AC | Giorgio Caproni | ![]() |
AC | Max Ehinger | ![]() |
AC | Miklós Jós | ![]() |
AC | Philip Greene | ![]() |
AC | Philip Rooney | ![]() |
AC | Juuse Tamminen | ![]() |
AC | Joel Laikka | ![]() |
Lyric works
The following writers took part:[13]
Rank | Name | Country |
---|---|---|
1 | Aale Tynni | ![]() |
2 | Ernst Van Heerden | ![]() |
3 | Gilbert Prouteau | ![]() |
AC | Heikki Asunta | ![]() |
AC | Eleuter Iwaszkiewicz | ![]() |
AC | Walter Roberts | ![]() |
AC | Giorgio Caproni | ![]() |
AC | Michele Caballo Galleano | ![]() |
AC | Benoît Bickel | ![]() |
AC | Ferdinand Schell | ![]() |
AC | René Borchanne | ![]() |
AC | Stanislaus Lynch | ![]() |
AC | Flora Vere O'Brien | ![]() |
Unknown event
The following writers took part:[14]
Rank | Name | Country |
---|---|---|
AC | Geraldine Wright | ![]() |
AC | Doris Hedges | ![]() |
AC | Gérard Bessette | ![]() |
AC | François Hertel | ![]() |
Music
Compositions for orchestra
The following composers took part:[15]
Rank | Name | Country |
---|---|---|
1 | Zbigniew Turski | ![]() |
2 | Kalervo Tuukkanen | ![]() |
3 | Erling Brene | ![]() |
AC | Grażyna Bacewicz | ![]() |
AC | Einar Englund | ![]() |
AC | Jan Kapr | ![]() |
AC | Maurice Thiriet | ![]() |
AC | Stanisław Wiechowicz | ![]() |
AC | Yves Baudrier | ![]() |
AC | Werner Gallusser | ![]() |
AC | Jean Daetwyler | ![]() |
AC | Clermont Pépin | ![]() |
AC | Alexander Brott | ![]() |
AC | Oskar Morawetz | ![]() |
AC | Aarre Merikanto | ![]() |
Instrumental and chamber
The following composers took part:[16]
Rank | Name | Country |
---|---|---|
1 | Not awarded | |
2 | John Weinzweig | ![]() |
3 | Sergio Lauricella | ![]() |
AC | Jean Coulthard Adams | ![]() |
AC | Mario Panunzi | ![]() |
AC | Harry Somers | ![]() |
AC | James C. Flynn | ![]() |
Vocals
The following composers took part:[17]
Rank | Name | Country |
---|---|---|
1 | Not awarded | |
2 | Not awarded | |
3 | Gabriele Bianchi | ![]() |
AC | Ina Boyle | ![]() |
AC | Barbara Pentland | ![]() |
AC | Harry Somers | ![]() |
AC | John Weinzweig | ![]() |
AC | Gerard Victory | ![]() |
AC | Jan Zdeněk Bartoš | ![]() |
Unknown event
The following composers took part:[18]
Rank | Name | Country |
---|---|---|
AC | Václav Dobiáš | ![]() |
AC | Josef Kouba | ![]() |
Painting
Graphic arts
The following painters took part:[19]
Rank | Name | Country |
---|---|---|
1 | Albert Decaris | ![]() |
2 | John Copley | ![]() |
3 | Walter Battiss | ![]() |
AC | Laura Knight | ![]() |
AC | Adam Marczyński | ![]() |
AC | Gino De Finetti | ![]() |
AC | Chen Hsiao-nan | ![]() |
AC | John Skeaping | ![]() |
AC | Gwen Raverat | ![]() |
AC | Lilla Hellesen | ![]() |
AC | Andrzej Jurkiewicz | ![]() |
AC | Delmar Banner | ![]() |
AC | André Dunoyer de Segonzac | ![]() |
AC | Flora Vere O'Brien | ![]() |
AC | Hans Erni | ![]() |
AC | Heinrich Krause | ![]() |
AC | James Bostock | ![]() |
AC | John Buckland-Wright | ![]() |
AC | Livinius van de Bundt | ![]() |
AC | Luc Albert Moreau | ![]() |
AC | William Washington | ![]() |
AC | Winifred Austen | ![]() |
AC | Luigi Bartolini | ![]() |
AC | Frederick Austin | ![]() |
AC | Anthony Gross | ![]() |
Paintings
The following painters took part:[20]
|
|
|
Unknown event
The following painters took part:[21]
|
|
|
Applied arts
The following painters took part:[22]
|
|
|
Sculpture
Medals and plaques
The following sculptors took part:[23]
Rank | Name | Country |
---|---|---|
1 | Not awarded | |
2 | Oskar Thiede | ![]() |
3 | Edwin Grienauer | ![]() |
AC | Alex Walter Diggelmann | ![]() |
AC | Filippo Sgarlata | ![]() |
AC | Stanislav Binar | ![]() |
AC | Alessandro Manzo | ![]() |
AC | Omero Taddeini | ![]() |
AC | Thomas Wilkinson | ![]() |
Reliefs
The following sculptors took part:[24]
Rank | Name | Country |
---|---|---|
1 | Not awarded | |
2 | Not awarded | |
3 | Rosamund Fletcher | ![]() |
Statues
The following sculptors took part:[25]
|
|
|
Unknown event
The following sculptors took part:[26]
|
|
|
References
- "Art Competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics". Olympedia. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
- (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 (PDF) from the original on 8 April 2008. Retrieved 25 March 2008.
{{cite book}}
:|author=
has generic name (help) - Wagner, Juergen. "Olympic Art Competition 1948 London". Olympic Games Museum. Archived from the original on 16 February 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
- Kramer, Bernhard (May 2004). "In Search of the Lost Champions of the Olympic Art Contests" (PDF). Journal of Olympic History. 12 (2): 29–34. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 April 2008. Retrieved 25 March 2008.
- Bolanaki, A. (June 1951). "Report on Art Exhibitions" (PDF). Bulletin du Comité International Olympique. Lausanne: International Olympic Committee (27): 34. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 April 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
- "Olympic Medal Winners". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 28 March 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
- "London 1948 Medal Table". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
- "Art Competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics: Architecture, Designs For Town Planning, Open". Olympedia. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
- "Art Competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics: Architecture, Architectural Designs, Open". Olympedia. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
- "Art Competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics: Architecture, Further Entries, Open". Olympedia. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
- "Art Competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics: Literature, Dramatic Works, Open". Olympedia. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- "Art Competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics: Literature, Epic Works, Open". Olympedia. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- "Art Competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics: Literature, Lyric Works, Open". Olympedia. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- "Art Competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics: Literature, Unknown Event, Open". Olympedia. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- "Art Competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics: Music, Compositions For Orchestra, Open". Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- "Art Competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics: Music, Instrumental And Chamber, Open". Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- "Art Competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics: Music, Vocals, Open". Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- "Art Competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics: Music, Unknown Event, Open". Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- "Art Competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics: Painting, Graphic Arts, Open". Olympedia. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
- "Art Competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics: Painting, Paintings, Open". Olympedia. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
- "Art Competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics: Painting, Unknown Event, Open". Olympedia. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- "Art Competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics: Painting, Applied Arts, Open". Olympedia. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- "Art Competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics: Sculpturing, Medals And Plaques, Open". Retrieved 26 August 2020.
- "Art Competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics: Sculpturing, Reliefs, Open". Retrieved 26 August 2020.
- "Art Competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics: Sculpturing, Statues, Open". Retrieved 26 August 2020.
- "Art Competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics: Sculpturing, Unknown Event, Open". Retrieved 27 August 2020.