Artist Ralph Fasanella (1914 - 1997)

Sports Panorama

Date1947

DimensionsSight: 34 3/4 × 54 in. (88.3 × 137.2 cm)

Object numberN0015.2010

Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Gift of Jane Ferrara

Photograph by Richard Walker

Label TextSports are a vital part of community. Fasanella grew up playing games with his neighborhood friends, and the idea of a game with teams became a metaphor for life. He once proclaimed, “Life is together. Fighting together, playing stickball together. People need each other. Games are made—you need the other guy to play with. Can’t play by yourself.” Fasanella’s sports scenes are extraordinarily detailed and layered, almost like a photographic collage. Memory, realism, dreams, and imagination are all mixed together. There is a sense of nostalgia in this old neighborhood filled with people cheering in a communal spirit that Fasanella saw as vital and precious.

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