Jason E Cooper

As we are all having the olympics shoved down our throat today, I thought I would mention that Alfred Thomson was the last Briton to win a gold medal for painting………….yes painting. His painting ‘London Amateur Championships’  beat off competition from Italy & Ireland. Painting was not the only event within the arts category; architecture, literature, music and sculpture. The categories were stopped in 1956 as it was believed that the artists taking part were considered professional whereas the amateur sports people. I would have paid to see Tracy Emin go up against Banksy!