Bart Forbes: World Cup Championship

Artist: Bart Forbes
1939 -
Nationality: American
Artwork Year: 1994
Image Size: 14 by 9.5 inches
Overall Size: 20 by 15 inches
Medium: Oil on Cold Press Illustration Board

"The lines spring out from the base ... stretching out to receive the world." Thus Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga described the World Cup trophy, an 18-karat solid gold statuette considered to be the world's most prized sports award. Since 1974, Gazzaniga's dramatic design has served as the symbol for world championship soccer. However in 1930, when the first World Cup competition was held, the trophy was much different. Then the award consisted of an octagonal cup held in the outstretched arms of the goddess of victory, and sat on a pedestal of semi-precious stones. Throughout its history, that first World Cup statuette underwent a series of adventures. During World War II, the coveted award was actually hidden under a bed in Italy to protect it from invading forces. Just prior to the 1966 tournament held in England, the World Cup trophy was stolen from a public exhibition. Although Scotland Yard failed to locate the missing statuette immediately, it was eventually discovered. Thanks to the inquisitiveness of a mongrel dog named Pickles, the valuable trophy turned up in the trash heap of a London suburb. While in Brazil in 1983, the award was stolen for the second time. Thus far, it has never been recovered. Assuming the original had been melted down, the Brazilian Football Association replaced the missing trophy with a duplicate. Today, instead of awarding present-day World Cup champions the original statuette, a gold-plated replica is given to the winning team.

This painting originally appeared on the Fleetwood® First Day Cover for the U.S. 29¢ World Cup USA 94 stamp issued May 26, 1994.

Artwork Copyright © 1994 Unicover Corporation. All Rights Reserved under United States and international copyright laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, transmit, or otherwise exploit the Artwork in any way. Images of the Artwork may be watermarked and/or digitally watermarked. Any sale of the physical original does not include or convey the Copyright or any right comprised in the copyright.

Our Stock Number (SKU): XB14736

US$ Price: $2,700.00

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