Play It Again, Sport!

The first modern Olympic Games began on this day in 1896 in Athens, Greece.

Featuring about 245 male athletes who participated in 43 events, the revival of the ancient Olympic Games was intended to provide contestants a noble yet rigorous international competition.

This mural by Joseph Rugolo, part of our exhibition Scenes of American Life: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, provides a sampling of popular sports in the United States.

Although several of these athletes remain unidentified, Rugolo noted that the running figure represents Olympian Jesse Owens, and the tennis player is eight-time Wimbledon champion Helen Wills Moody. He painted this mural for the New York City branch of the WPA Federal Art Project.

Source: Virginia Mecklenburg. Scenes from American Life: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum (exhibition text, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1999).

Pictured: Joseph Rugolo, 1911–1983, Mural of Sports, about 1935, oil on linen, 72 1/4 x 96 1/8 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Newark Museum.