Tom McNeely: Olympic Discus

Artist: Tom McNeely
1935 -
Nationality: Canadian
Artwork Year: 1991
Image Size: 16.875 by 20 inches
Overall Size: 20.5 by 24.375 inches
Medium: Water Color on Water Color Paper

The rhythmic, skilled sport of the discus throw has existed since ancient times -- shrouded in myth and captured in art. In a tragic accident, the Greek god Apollo killed his friend Hyakinthos with a discus which had been blown off course by Zephyrus. Sport was born from legend and the discus became an important part in the ancient Olympics. Twenty-four centuries ago, Greek sculptor Myron captured the beauty of the throw with his Diskobolos, a sculpture capturing a fleeting moment in the discus throw. Today, modern cameras are able to capture in slow-motion every movement of a skillful discus-thrower. The discus has been part of the modern Olympics since the 1896 Athens Games, when Robert Garrett of the United States took home the gold. American men have dominated the sport since the beginning, first with Garret, then with such greats as Clarence "Bud" Houser who grabbed the gold in the 1924 Paris Games and again in the 1928 Amsterdam Games. Another American, the legendary Al Oerter first took the gold in the 1956 Melbourne Games and for the next decade he would dominate the sport of the discus throw. In 1960 Oerter amazed all when he came back from a near-fatal car crash to win the event in Rome, setting an Olympic record. He would take the gold two more times in his career: in the 1964 Tokyo Games and in the 1968 Mexico City Games.

This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood® First Day Cover for the U.S. 29¢ Tribute to the Olympics stamp issued July 12, 1991.

Artwork Copyright © 1991 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): XB12998

US$ Price: $2,700.00

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