List of Olympic medalists in art competitions

Their absence before the 1912 Summer Olympics, according to journalism professor Richard Stanton, stems from Coubertin "not wanting to fragment the focus of his new and fragile movement".

[1] Art competitions were originally planned for inclusion in the 1908 Summer Olympics but were delayed after that edition's change in venue from Rome to London following the 1906 eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

Planners of the 1952 Summer Olympics opposed their inclusion on logistical grounds, claiming that the lack of an international association for the event meant that the entire onus of facilitation was placed on the local organizing committee.

[7] Concerns were also raised about the professionalism of the event, since only amateurs were allowed to participate in the sporting tournaments,[8] and the growing commercialization of the competitions, as artists had been permitted to sell their submissions during the course of the Games since 1928.

Since participants were allowed multiple submissions, it was also possible for artists to win more than one in a single event, as Alex Diggelmann of Switzerland did in the graphic arts category of the 1948 edition.