Athletes and Olympians in Cheltenham

Until 30 August – Fresh from the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Athletes and Olympians exhibitions promises county art lovers a real summer treat.

Coming direct from the National Portrait Gallery in London – for its first showing outside the capital, no less – the Athletes and Olympians exhibition at Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum will be celebrating sporting heroes and heroines of the last 100 years in their true glory.

Visitors can expect to see David Beckham sleeping in a digital video by Sam Taylor-Wood, Duncan Goodhew in a split-screen video by Marty St James and Anne Wilson, while Sir Stephen Redgrave, Amir Khan, Dame Kelly Holmes and Raula Radcliffe are also represented in artistic forms.

The exhibition, capturing champions in the athletic field and Olympics from 1904 through to 2004, also includes past figures such as tennis star Kitty Godfrey, winner of five Olympic medals, and Harold Abrahams – the inspiration for the film Chariots of Fire.

Organisers say many of the exhibition’s photographs are taken by some of the world’s best sports and portraiture photographers. These include Alexander Bassano, who photographed celebrities of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including the Royal Family; Michael Birt, whose photographs were published in The Times and Sunday Times, Newsweek and the New York Times Magazine; and Lord Patrick Lichfield, who has left a legacy of some of the finest twentieth-century images.

This stunning exhibition will also be accompanied by a programme of family events, with visitors being able to enjoy a film about the Olympics and flex their own athletic skills on a Nintendo Wii.

Event: Athletes and Olympians exhibition
Venue: Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum
Date: Saturday 4 July to Sunday 30 August 2009
Times: 10am to 5pm daily
Tickets: Admission is free. For more information call (01242) 237431 or visit cheltenhammuseum.org.uk directly.

SoGlos.com
26 June 2009