It depicts internal conflict: the pitting of honor and sportsmanship versus the desire to win, or the struggle to maintain resolve in the face of overwhelming odds, pain and fatigue.
Whether one thinks of the athletic contests portrayed in Greek vase painting and sculpture, the epic hunts that form the subjects of so many great medieval tapestries and manuscript pages, or the elegant horse-racing scenes of Fay Moore and Marilyn Newmark, depicting sport has inspired artists particularly those who want to capture the motion and emotion of sport.
Many of the most renowned artists- Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, and George Bellows-were active sports persons themselves and numbered among their friends leading athletes, fishermen and hunters.
[3] Founded in 1959 by Germain G. Glidden, an artist and sportsman, the National Art Museum of Sport opened its first location in 1968 at Madison Square Garden.
[5] Exhibitions from the permanent collection in the last years have included: "Inuit Games",[7] "Winslow Homer: Leisurely Observations",[8] "Portrait of an Athlete",[9] "Luc-Albert Moreau: Physiologie de La Boxe",[10] and "Drawn to Sport".