Artistic Style
The artist Dudley Talcott appropriated a recognizable semi-classical form and superimposed a machine-like veneer, with hands resembling tools, exaggerated and stylized musculature, and a featureless visage.
Fabricating the massive form in cast aluminum, a newly accessible and favored Art Deco building material at the time, he further associated the Wrestler with a new modern aspect.
Exhibition History
The Wrestler was exhibited in 1930 at The Museum of Modern Art and then at the 10th Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1932.
Until 1948, art competitions were a part of the modern Olympic Games, wherein medals were awarded for works inspired by sport. Thirty-one nations participated in the 1932 Olympic art exhibition held at the Los Angeles Art Museum.
Talcott received an Honorable Mention. The gold medal went to Mahonri Young, an important New York social realist sculptor (and grandson of Brigham Young).