Art at the Olympic Games

Available posters by Tracey Emin, David Hockney, and Alice Neel

How are everyone’s summers going? I loved getting married and love being married even more. Thank you for all the well wishes.

🤍🕊️

The Olympics start tomorrow, cementing my summer plans. Watching the Olympics is one of the few times I feel patriotic and passionately root for Team Canada. I find the Olympics an interesting snapshot of history, looking back at certain games and the context in which they took place.

From my research, there are a few Olympics that created artist editions—and they’re all amazing. The Munich Olympics in 1972, the London Paralympics in 2012, and the Montreal Olympics in 1976 all worked with fine art printers and iconic artists to create poster editions. While they’re all sport-adjacent, they also stand alone as artworks.

This Olympics has more of a focus on fashion (especially since LVMH is the premium sponsor). I’ve been watching athletes from around the world try on their “kits” in mini fashion shows on TikTok—I find it very endearing. I wish we kept making art posters for the games, though! I’m now daydreaming about who would be a good fit for the next Olympics in Milan and Los Angeles. For the latter, I can imagine editions by Christina Quarles and Lauren Halsey. There’s also the opportunity for a cool medal design.

As the Olympics become more interdisciplinary, let’s add art back into the games. In the meantime, here are four posters I love that you can add to cart in time for the Paris Olympics.

Four Olympic Art Posters

Tracey Emin, Birds 2012 (London 2012 Paralympics)—CA $949.72

I love this poster and would seriously consider buying it if I had the room and extra cash. Not only is it in Tracey Emin’s signature style—both a sketch and a text piece—but the sentiment is so sweet. This would be a very romantic gift for someone in your life!! [Etsy Link]

Tom Wesselmann, Unittled (Olympics Munich 1972)—US $295

An iconic piece of pop-art that I think would look very trendy framed in a living room. I can picture it perfectly. I love the colours, but you must be okay with feet… [Ebay Link)

David Hockney, Skater 1983 (1984 Winter Olympics Sarajevo, Yugoslavia)—CA $3,052

I’ll go on the record that I think this is a good deal. The poster is a signed edition of 200— unsigned Hockney posters are currently listed online for $1K. I have a soft spot for Hockney’s photography, which I think is inventive and gives insight into his use of perspective in painting. [1stDibs Link]

Alice Neel, Untitled (1976 Montreal Olympic Games)—US$50

This might be my favourite Olympic poster of all time, by one of my favourite painters. Here’s a link to the original Alice Neel painting of the model Ginny, painted specifically for this poster. The price on this poster, found in a little online store out of DC, might be too good to be true. But it might not be! Should I buy and see? It’s pretty low-risk, and there are two available. [Online Shop]

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Let me know if you end up buying any of the above, or just drop me a line to say hi.