The Sprinter

Charles Albert Lopez

1902, cast 1907 · Bronze · The American Wing

Lopez is best known for his monumental work, and “The Sprinter,” an academic study of a track runner, is the only athletic figure he executed. Lopez’s figure is posed in a starting position, suggesting that the recently developed crouching start for a running race presented sculptors with a novel pose for the male figure. The United States Navy chose a cast of “The Sprinter" to serve as a championship trophy in track and field events for the Atlantic, Pacific, and Asiatic fleets. This statuette was purchased by the Metropolitan Museum in 1907, the year after the sculptor’s death.

Artist

Charles Albert Lopez

Date

1902, cast 1907

Medium

Bronze

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1907