Like Marsden Hartley (1877–1943), Weber was among the earliest American artists to respond to the European avant-garde. Weber’s depiction of track-and-field events utilizes the fractured and repeated forms of Cubism and Italian Futurism to evoke heroic masculinity. The composition conveys the great energy that the athletes’ activities generate. Within the commotion the artist left clues to the event: a few runners in numbered jerseys, a pole vaulter in a blue-striped uniform, and colorful flags decorating the outdoor setting.
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Inscription: Signed and dated (lower right): MAX WEBER 1915
the artist, Great Neck, N. Y. (1915–at least 1949); [Eva Lee Gallery, Great Neck, N. Y., until 1967; sold to MMA]
New York. Montross Gallery. "Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture by Max Weber," December 14–30, 1915, no. 3 (as "Interscholastic Runners").
New York. Whitney Museum of American Art. "Max Weber Retrospective Exhibition," February 5–March 27, 1949, no. 15 (lent by the artist).
Minneapolis. Walker Art Center. "Max Weber Retrospective Exhibition," April 17–May 29, 1949, no. 15.
San Francisco. California Palace of the Legion of Honor. "Max Weber Retrospective Exhibition," June–August 1949, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "American Paintings, Drawings and Watercolors from the Museum's Collections," October 1–December 7, 1969, no catalogue.
New York. Bernard Danenberg Galleries, Inc. "Max Weber: The Years 1906–1916," May 12–30, 1970, no. 66.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Installation of the 20th Century Paintings and Sculpture Galleries," opened October 5, 1971, no catalogue.
Milan. Palazzo Reale. "Boccioni e Il Suo Tempo," December 1973–February 1973, no. 304.
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. "Modern American Painting 1910–1940: Toward a New Perspective," July 1–September 25, 1977, no. 77.
Utica, N.Y. Museum of Art, Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. "The Olympics in Art: An Exhibition of Works of Art Related to Olympic Sports," January 13–March 2, 1980, no. 56.
Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Futurism and the International Avant-Garde," October 26, 1980–January 4, 1981, no. 132.
Jewish Museum, New York. "Max Weber: American Modern," October 5, 1982–January 16, 1983, no. 37.
West Palm Beach. Norton Gallery and School of Art. "Max Weber: American Modern," February 18–April 10, 1983, no. 37.
San Antonio. McNay Art Institute. "Max Weber: American Modern," May 22–July 31, 1983, no. 37.
Omaha. Joslyn Art Museum. "Max Weber: American Modern," August 27–November 5, 1983, no. 37.
Venice. Palazzo Grassi. "Futurismo e Futurismi," May 4–October 12, 1986, unnumbered cat. (p. 370; as "Contesto Atletico").
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "14 Americans," July 16, 1990–January 2, 1991, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "American Painting: 1905–1950," April 19–October 7, 1991, no catalogue.
Atlanta. High Museum of Art. "Max Weber: The Cubist Decade, 1910–1920," December 10, 1991–February 9, 1992, no. 49 (as "Athletic Contest [Interscholastic Runners]").
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. "Max Weber: The Cubist Decade, 1910–1920," March 8–May 3, 1992, no. 49.
Washington, D. C. Corcoran Gallery of Art. "Max Weber: The Cubist Decade, 1910–1920," May 31–August 9, 1992, no. 49.
Buffalo, N. Y. Albright-Knox Art Gallery. "Max Weber: The Cubist Decade, 1910–1920," September 12–October 25, 1992, no. 49.
Brooklyn Museum. "Max Weber: The Cubist Decade, 1910–1920," November 13, 1992–January 10, 1993, no. 49.
Staatsgalerie Stuttgart. "Magie der Zahl in der Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts," February 1–May 19, 1997, no. 1.14.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Max Weber from the Collection," March 9–June 13, 1999, no catalogue.
A. V. C. "Art Weaves of Weber." American Art News 14 (December 18, 1915), p. 3, calls it "Interscholastic Runners".
"The World of Art." Brooklyn Daily Eagle (December 20, 1915), p. 13.
Henry McBride. "Current News of Art and the Exhibitions." Sun (New York, N.Y.) (December 19, 1915), p. 7.
Manny Farber. "Weber Answers Questions." Art News 48 (March 1949), p. 56.
Douglas Cooper. The Cubist Epoch. Exh. cat., Los Angeles County Museum of Art. London, 1970, pp. 176, 178, 312, no. 319, colorpl. 195.
Marshall B. Davidson. The American Heritage History of the Artists' America. New York, 1973, ill. p. 288.
Irma B. Jaffe. "The Forming of the Avant-Garde, 1900–30." The Genius of American Painting. Ed. John Wilmerding. New York, 1973, p. 214, ill. p. 215.
Henry Geldzahler in "Twentieth Century Art." The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Notable Acquisitions, 1965–1975. New York, 1975, p. 205, ill.
Alfred Werner. Max Weber. New York, 1975, pl. 61 (bw overall with color detail).
"A Bicentennial Treasury: American Masterpieces from the Metropolitan." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 33 (Winter 1975–76), ill. p. 243.
Daniel Catton Rich, ed. The Flow of Art: Essays and Criticisms of Henry McBride. New York, 1975, p. 94 [reprint of McBride 1915].
M. E. "Review: Agee's Revision." Texas Monthly 5 (November 1977), p. 169.
Barbara Rose. "The Armory Show and Its Aftermath." American Painting from the Colonial Period to the Present. 2nd ed. (1st ed., 1969). New York, 1977, ill. p. 137 (color).
Barbara Rose. American Painting: The Twentieth Century. 3rd ed. (1st ed., 1969; 2nd ed., 1977). New York, 1980, ill. p. 19 (color).
Percy North. Max Weber: American Modern. Exh. cat., Jewish Museum. New York, 1982, pp. 44, 73, no. 37, ill. p. 71.
Kathleen Howard, ed. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. New York, 1983, p. 430, no. 9, ill. (color).
Helen L. Kohen. "Max Weber: An Artist Who Stops Short of Greatness." Miami Herald (February 27, 1983), ill. p. 8L.
Deborah C. Phillips. "Max Weber." Art News 82 (January 1983), p. 144, ill.
Lowery Stokes Sims. The Figure in 20th Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exh. cat., Jacksonville Art Museum. New York, 1984, p. 128, ill.
Dominic Ricciotti. "The Revolution in Urban Transport: Max Weber and Italian Futurism." American Art Journal 16 (Winter 1984), pp. 56, 63 n. 25, calls it "Interscholastic Runners".
Elyse Topalian. "Modern Art in the Met." Apollo 124 (October 1986), p. 363.
Oswaldo Rodriguez Roque et al. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 9, The United States of America. New York, 1987, p. 116, colorpl. 87 and ill. p. 117 (color detail).
Robert McVaugh. Abstraction, Non-objectivity, Realism: Twentieth-century Painting, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Exh. cat., Picker Art Gallery, Colgate University. Hamilton, N.Y., 1987, p. 54, relates this work to Albert Gliezes' "Equestrienne" (Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 37.494).
Michael North. "The Sign of Five: Williams' 'The Great Figure' and its Background." Criticism: A Quarterly for Literature and the Arts 30 (Summer 1988), p. 338.
Percy North. Max Weber: The Cubist Decade, 1910–1920. Exh. cat., High Museum of Art. Atlanta, 1991, pp. 37, 91, 101, no. 49, ill. p. 63 (color).
Catherine Fox. "Critic's Choice: Thoroughly Modern Max." Atlanta Journal (December 13, 1991), ill. p. D1.
Roberta Smith. "One Brief and Shining Cubist Moment." New York Times (November 13, 1992), p. C30.
Robert Henkes. Themes in American Painting: A Reference Work to Common Styles and Genres. Jefferson, N.C., 1993, pp. 113–14, dates it 1916.
Roberta Tarbell. "Max Weber: The Cubist Decade, 1910–1920." American Art Review 5 (Winter 1993), ill. p. 136 (color).
Guy Hubbard. "Sports Action." Arts and Activities 123 (March 1998), p. 32, ill.
Jacqueline Francis. Making Race: Modernism and "Racial Art" in America. Seattle, 2012, p. 123, calls it "Athletic Contest (Interscholastic Runners)".
Phyllis Rose. Alfred Stieglitz: Taking Pictures, Making Painters. New Haven, 2019, p. 105, ill. following p. 136, colorpl. 8.
William C. Agee and Pamela Nabseth Koob. "Masterpiece | 'Athletic Contest' (1915), by Max Weber: New American Movement." Wall Street Journal (December 26–27, 2020), p. C14, ill. (color).
Max Weber (American (born Russia), Bialystok 1881–1961 Great Neck, New York)
1933
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