John Copley

John Copley RBA was a British artist. He was a founder member of the Senefelder Club and served as its honorary secretary from 1910 to 1916. While there he met his future wife, Ethel Léontine Gabain, with whom he had two sons.

Copley won a silver medal for Painting and Engraving at the 1948 London Summer Olympics. At 73, he was the oldest recipient of any Olympic medal. 1948 was the last Games in which art competitions were held.

Career
Copley was influenced by Ford Madox Brown. He became interested in lithography in 1906 and initially worked in colour before exclusively working in black and white. One of his works claimed a prize at Chicago Art Institute's First International Exhibition of Lithographs. In 1947 Copley was honoured as the president of the Royal Society of British Artists.

Olympic success
Copley submitted an engraving entitled "Polo Players" to the art competitions of the 1948 Summer Olympic Games in London. He won the silver medal in the Mixed Painting, Engravings And Etchings category, finishing second behind French artist Albert Decaris. At the time of the competition Copley was 73 years of age, making him the oldest ever Olympic medal winner. The arts competitions are no longer recognised by the International Olympic Committee; 72-year-old Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn is recorded as the oldest sporting medal winner.

The Fine Art Society celebrated Copley's Olympic success at the London Original Print Fair in April 2012. A collection of his works was on display throughout the event.

Text courtesy of Wikipedia, 2024