Polish Artists at the Olympic Art Contests: 1928-1948
In the first half of the 20th century, the greatest sporting events were often accompanied by widespread exhibitions focussed around sports themes. Between 1912 and 1948, the Olympic Art Contests were held, parallel to the Olympics themselves, with the goal of selecting the best artworks on the subject of sports.
These contests had been conceived by Baron Pierre de Coubertin during the Games of the V Olympiad in Stockholm in 1912. The initiator and creator of the modernised Olympics wanted to have not only athletes, but also artists compete for medals. The sport-themed artworks were judged in the disciplines of architecture, sculpture, painting, graphics, literature, and music. Over the span of 36 years, the Olympic Competitions took place parallel to the V Games in Stockholm (1912), the VII Games in Antwerp (1920), the VIII Games in Paris (1924), the IX Games in Amsterdam (1928), the X Games in Los Angeles (1932), the XI Games in Berlin (1936), and the XIV Games in London (1948).
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‘Atleta’ sculptures by the sculptor Olga Niewska, shown at the exhibition ‘Sport w Sztuce’ (Sport in Art) at the Institute for the Propagation of Art in Warsaw, photo: NAC
Polish artists exhibited their artworks in the last four editions of the Olympics, between 1928 and 1948 – though the first steps to bring the Polish section to the Olympic Competitions had already been taken in 1922, in preparation for the Olympic Competitions in Paris (1924). This had been the aim of Professor Edward Wittig, a Polish Olympic Committee member and sculptor. Eventually, however, no Polish artworks were submitted to the Parisian edition of the Competitions, with Polish artists instead merely participating in the international jury of the Parisian exhibition: Karol Stryjeński in the architecture jury, Karol Szymanowski in music and Olga Boznańska in painting. In subsequent years, the selection of the Polish section was always preceded by national competitions held in Warsaw, at first on the premises of ZPAP (Association of Polish Artists and Designers) in 1928, then at the Institute for the Propagation of Art (1932, 1934), and finally at the Association of Polish Architects (1948). The Competitions were a subject of great interest among the Polish artistic community, especially in the 1930s and 1940s. The artists received guarantees of financial remuneration.
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The ‘Sport w Sztuce’ (Sport in Art) exhibition at the Baryczków Tenement House at the Old Town Square in Warsaw, organised by the Institute for the Propagation of Art, pictured: incl. Deputy Minister of Religious Denominations and Public Enlightenment Bronisław Żongołłowicz (3rd from the left), director of the Department of Science and Art at the Ministry of Religious Denominations and Public Education Władysław Skoczylas (3rd from the right), Prof. Wojciech Jastrzębowski (on the left), 1932, photo: NAC
Art Competitions at the Summer Olympics in Amsterdam (1928)
The first Polish Sports Exhibition, whose goal was the selection of the best artworks on athletic topics in the disciplines of design arts and architecture, was organized by the Art Committee of the Polish Olympic Committee in agreement with the Association of Polish Artists and Designers and the Society for the Propagation of Polish Art Abroad. It took place at the beginning of April 1928 in the Warsaw headquarters of ZPAP, which were located in 19 Nowy Swiat Street. The jury of design arts and architecture consisted of Michał Boruciński, Tadeusz Pruszkowski, Karol Stryjeński, Jan Szczepkowski and Mieczysław Treter.
No awards were granted at the exhibition, but the artworks of four Polish artists received distinctions: the portraits of the Wisła Kraków team by Vlastimil Hoffman, the athletic sculptures of Olga Niewska, the painting Skok (Na Płotku) (On a Hurdle) by Wacław Piotrowski, and the painting Wioślarz (The Rower) by Ludomir Slendziński. Amongst the numerous works submitted to the Warsaw exhibition, only 16 were selected, and these were supplemented by paintings from private and public collections. Eventually, the Polish section in Amsterdam, which consisted of paintings, graphic designs, sculptures, and architectural designs was amongst the largest – it counted as many as 86 artworks.
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‘Sport w Sztuce’ (Sport in Art) exhibition at the Institute for the Propagation of Art in Warsaw, 1936, pictured: jury qualifying the entries for the Olympic Art Competition in Berlin during the exhibition tour, from left: Vice-President of the Polish Olympic Committee Jerzy Grabowski, sculptor Józef Starzyński, counselor in the Art Department of the Ministry of Religious Denominations and Public Enlightenment Józef Sienkiewicz, painter Michał Boruciński, sculptor Franciszek Strynkiewicz, painter Wacław Wąsowicz, architect Stanisław Rogoyski, painter Wacław Wąsowicz, architect Stanisław Rogoyski, artist Zygmunt Kamiński, painter Henryk Stażewski, sculptor Henryk Kuna, photo: NAC
The Olympic Competitions at the Stedelijk Museum took place between 12th June and 12th August 1928. According to the exhibition catalogue, nearly 600 artworks by artists hailing from 18 different countries were on display. Poland took home two medals – a gold medal in literature was awarded to Kazimierz Wierzyński for his collection Olympic Laurel, and a bronze medal in design was awarded to Władysław Skoczylas for his series of watercolours: Archer (Standing), Archer (Kneeling), Diana, and Jeleń Św. Huberta (The Stag of St Hubertus). The artists’ victories were celebrated widely in Poland and were met with great enthusiasm, almost equally as much as the medals of the athletes. Skoczylas, noticing the widespread acclaim brought to him by the bronze medal, entertained the idea of organising a special group of artists whose works would focus exclusively around athletic themes.
Art Competitions at the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles (1932)
The second Sports Exhibition, entitled Athletics in Art, took place on 31 October 1931, with the aim to select the artworks for the Olympic Exhibition in Los Angeles. The event took place at the Institute for the Propagation of Art in cooperation with the Ministry of Religious Affiliation and Public Enlightenment. The jury awarded the two first prizes, one to Rafał Malczewski for his painting Skis (On Skis) and the other to Jadwiga Malczewska for her painting Boks (Boxing). Five ex-aequo second prizes were awarded to: Wacław Borowski for his Archers, Józef Korolkiewicz for Boxing, Władysław Jarocki for W Górach (In the Mountains), Eugeniusz Geppert for Horses and Michał Bylina for Jeździectwo (Equestrianism). Amongst the unawarded, but highly esteemed artworks, were also Wioślarze (The Rowers) by Felicjan Kowarski.
It is worth noting that some of the artworks exhibited at IPA (Institute for the Propagation of Art) were also given awards but subsequently withdrawn from the contest due to violations of the criteria for participation (i.e. due to their size being too large or due to being submitted after the competition’s official deadline). In the sculpture category, the first two prizes were awarded to Alfons Karny for his Dziewczynkę ze Skakanką (Pierwszy Trening) (Girl With a Skipping Rope [First Training]) and to Antoni Kenar for his sculpture of the Hockey Player; the second prize was awarded ex-aequo to Franciszek Masiak for his Pierwsza Strzała (First Arrow), Stanisław Horno-Popławski for the Tennis Player and to Franciszek Strynkiewicz for Odpoczynek (Rest).
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‘Hokeista’ (Hockey Player) by Antoni Kenar, 1936, photo: NAC
Eventually, 38 artworks spanning the categories of painting, sculpture, design and architecture were sent to the United States. The Polish section was thus more toned down than the one organised four years earlier for the exhibition in Amsterdam; the final catalogue of the Exhibition contained as many as 1,155 artworks from various countries.
Polish sculpture, which had been relatively poorly showcased in Amsterdam, enjoyed success in Los Angeles – the gold medal went to Józef Klukowski for his sculpture Wieńczenie Zawodnika (Sport Sculpture). In the design category, Janina Konarska received the silver medal for her woodcut Stadium (the woodcut Skiers also made its way into the finals), and the honourable mention went to Wacław Borowski in the painting category and Antoni Kenar in sculpture. The opinions of the international jury differed than those of the Polish jurors at the National Olympic Competitions.
Art Competitions at the Summer Olympics in Berlin (1936)
Similarly to the Olympic Competitions in Amsterdam, the successes of Polish artists in Los Angeles received widespread attention back home. Sports became an increasingly popular theme in the artistic production of the 1930s, and following the first breakthrough success stories – Klukowski’s gold (in sculpture) and Konarska’s silver (for design) as well as Skoczylas’ bronze (also design) – more advanced efforts were being put into preparing for the next edition of the competitions, which were to take place in Berlin during the XI Games in 1936.
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‘Łuczniczka’ by Felicjan Kowarski, 1936, photo: NAC
The artworks for the Polish section at the Olympic Competitions in Berlin were to be selected at the national competitions at the Institute for the Propagation of Art in Warsaw, which took place on 18th April 1936. A total of 134 artworks were submitted, 39 of which embarked on their journey to the German capital. Ultimately, the jury did not award a first prize this time around.
In the category of painting, prizes were awarded to Felicjan Szczęsny Kowarski for his painting The Archer, Zygmunt Grabowski for Polo, and Paweł Dadlez for Fight for the Ball; in sculpture, prizes went out to Franciszek Masiak for The Swimmer, Józef Klukowski for Football and Natan Rapaport for The Tennis Player; in design, Stanisław Ostoja-Chrostowski’s woodcut Yachting Club Certificate and Stanisław Mrożewski’s woodcut Dawniej i Teraz (Yore and Now) won prizes; and in architecture, the main award went to Romuald Gutta’s and Aleksandra Szniolosa’s project for a swimming pool in Ciechocinek.
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‘Walka o Piłkę’ (The Fight for the Ball) by Paweł Dadlez, 1936, oil on board, photo: Museum of Sport and Tourism in Warsaw
The Games took place in the Third Reich, and so the atmosphere around the competitions in Berlin was for obvious reasons very political. In an act of protest against Nazi ideology, Natan Rapaport – a Polish artist of Jewish descent whose sculpture The Tennis Player had won a prize – ultimately decided not to send his work to the German capital.
The catalogue of the Berlin exhibition indicated that 729 artworks had been submitted, and that Polish artists had once again won prizes at the Olympic Competitions. Klukowski took home a silver medal, Stanisław Ostoja-Chrostowski received a bronze medal, and honorary mentions went to Franciszek Masiak and Eugeniusz Arct for the painting Hokeista (The Hockey Player). Additionally, a prize in the category of literature was awarded to Jan Parandowski for his poetry volume The Olympic Disk.
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’Olimpiada I: Łuk Triumfalny dla Zwycięzców’ (Olypics I: Triumphal Arch for the Winners) by Stanisław Noakowski, 1924, photo: National Museum in Warsaw
Art Competitions at the Summer Olympics in London (1948)
It is worth briefly mentioning that Polish artists were preparing for the 1940 Olympic Competitions, which ultimately did not come to fruition due to the eruption of World War II. The national competitions preceding the exhibition took place in April 1939, and amongst those distinguished by an award were: Józef Dutkiewicz, Maria Ewa Łunkiewicz-Rogoyska, Józef Oźmin, Henryk Siedlanowski, Mieczysław Tomkiewicz, and Mieczysław Wątorek.
The last Olympic Competitions were organised during the XIV Olympics in London (1948). In Poland, as per custom, it was preceded by the national competitions, to which 318 works of art and 70 musical compositions were submitted. Polish musicians enjoyed the greatest successes in London – Zbigniew Turski received a gold medal for his Olympic Symphony, and several other musical compositions made by the Polish section were also given prizes. A total of 440 artworks spanning painting, sculpture, embroidery and design were on display in the United Kingdom’s capital. In the Polish section, honourable mentions went to Jerzy Bandura for his sculpture Kraul (Crawl), Franciszek Strynkiewicz for Na Finiszu (At the Finish Line) and Adam Marczyński for his 8 ink drawings entitled Studia Sportowców (Sketches of Athletes). In the literature category, an honourable mention also went to Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz for his Olympic Odes.
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'Foutbool' by Janina Konarska, 1931, photo: National Museum in Kraków
A year later, in 1949, during a session of the Olympic Committee in Rome, the decision was made to suspend the Olympic Competitions in Literature and Art. During the 36 years of their existence, these competitions did not enjoy the greatest of reputations amongst international artistic circles. Critical voices prevailed – accusations of low artistic quality and anachronism were the main reasons. The most significant names hailing from the world of art and avant-garde (with the exception of George Grosz, William Baumeister and the Italian futurists) never participated in the competitions.
The Competitions were being boycotted by left-leaning artists – especially those hailing from Russia, who considered the Olympic Committee’s approach highly nationalistic and as a result claimed that the Olympic Competitions were a source of nationalist propaganda. For Polish artists, however, the competitions constituted a shot at making a name for themselves on the international art scene. News of their successes had made their way into not only the artistic press, but also into daily newspapers and sports coverage. The artists also received generous financial remunerations for the prizes they collected.
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‘Drużyna Wisły’ (The Wisła Team) by Wlastimil Hofman, 1927, oil on canvas, photo: Museum of Sport and Tourism in Warsaw
It is beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Olympic Competitions enjoyed notable attention in Poland, which is further confirmed by the fact that well-known and reputed artists on the domestic scene took part in the competitions. It is especially worth drawing attention to the fact that many women artists represented Poland at the Competitions, the most notable example being Maria Ewa Łunkiewicz-Rogoyska – the most avant-garde artist amongst those who took part in the Competitions. The majority of the artists who submitted their works to the athletic competitions, however, were of a more conservative bent. Their art did have propagandist undertones, which was related to the promotion of athletic activity in high culture and in the social life of the Second Republic of Poland. Over a period of 20 years, Polish artists won most of their medals in the disciplines of sculpture, graphics and design.
Originally written in Polish, translated by Agnes Dudek, Dec 2020