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A Gold Medal…for Art?
Did you know that for a good while the Olympics gave out medals for, well, art?
Specifically, in 1912, an Olympic art competition was introduced. It had multiple categories, including literature, painting, and sculpture. There was one solid rule:
All the entries had to be inspired by sport.
Why Olympic Art?
Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the IOC, had the idea that a true Olympian would be not just an athlete, but skilled in music and literature as well. He saw including the arts as integral.
So he pushed for it. In 1912, the first contests included architecture, music, painting, sculpture, and literature, and attracted 33 entrants.
The winners got the same prize as the athletes: Gold, silver, and bronze medals.
And at least one athlete won an art competition too. Walter Winans in the 1912 games won a silver medal in sharpshooting and a gold medal in sculpture for, apparently, a model of a Standardbred racer (or a chariot horse. It’s a little unclear). Here’s a list of the winners.