The University Art Museum’s exhibition Scrimmage: Football in American Art from the Civil War to the Present gathers original works of art for the first comprehensive survey of work by prominent American artists with subject matter that examines the quintessentially American sport of football, a sport which had its origins in the 19th century in the Ivy League colleges of the eastern seaboard.
The exhibition is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., through Dec. 18, and all programs are free and open to the public. The museum is located in the University Center for the Arts at 1400 Remington St.
Thanks to the enthusiastic response of major institutions and private collectors throughout the country, the exhibition brings works by important artists from the 19th century through the 21st century, including Winslow Homer, Frederic Remington, George Bellows, John Steuart Curry, Thomas Hart Benton, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, and more.
Through paintings, prints, sculpture, photography, and new-media art featured in this exhibition, football can be read as cultural narrative that reflects attitudes and transitions in our country’s history. Significant artists have regularly depicted aspects of the sport which reflect themes central to American life from the Civil War period to the present: class; race, assimilation and integration; gender relationships and the place of women in sports; patriotism and capitalism; violence and war; public spectatorship; and mass-media/celebrity culture. For example, current debates about violence and long-term health issues were explored by artists as early as the 19th century.
In order to involve visitors in these important topics, Scrimmage is accompanied by gallery text, special programming events, and an exhibition catalogue. Please visit www.artmuseum.colostate.edu for details.
The University Art Museum is grateful for the support of the City of Fort Collins Fort Fund, the Lilla B. Morgan Memorial Fund, the FUNd Endowment at Colorado State, and the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation.
This exhibition is organized by the University Art Museum at Colorado State University and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon. The exhibition was co-curated by Linny Frickman, director of the University Art Museum, and Danielle Knapp McCosh, associate curator at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art.
