Ashley Tappin, Swimmer, USA
Anderson & Low (Jonathan Anderson & Edwin Low), English, founded 1990
negative 1999; print 2005
Toned gelatin silver print
5/25
Sheet: 16 × 20 in. (40.6 × 50.8 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Nancy and Thomas F. O’Neil III, Class of 1979
© Anderson & Low
2014.66.3
Geography
Place Made: England, United Kingdom, Europe
Period
20th century
Object Name
Photograph
Research Area
Photograph
Not on view
Label
Here, accomplished swimmer Ashley Tappin is simply an athlete with ice bags saran-wrapped to her body to help her recovery—a universal experience for athletes regardless of gender. Tappin is a three-time Olympic gold medalist (her first came at age seventeen), three-time World Championships medalist, nine-time swimming World Cup medalist, and three-time Pan American Games gold medalist. As a six-time NCAA champion and twenty-time Louisiana high school state champion, she holds six Louisiana high school state records. The soft lighting and muted use of color in this image add a quiet, reflective feeling that captures not only the physical impact of high-performance training but also its mental toll.
From the 2025 exhibition A Space for Dialogue 123, Elegantly Violent: Exploring Masculinity and Gender Expectations within Women’s Sports, curated by Josephine (Josie) Harrison ’25, Mellon Special Project Intern
Exhibition History
A Space for Dialogue 123, Elegantly Violent: Exploring Masculinity and Gender Expectations within Women’s Sports, Josephine (Josie) Harrison ’25, Mellon Special Project Intern, Alvin P. Gutman Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, April 5 - May 25, 2025
Constructing Gender: Works from the Hood Museum of Art's Collection, 1500 to the Present, Harrington Gallery Teaching Exhibition, ARTH 2, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 28-April 22, 2012.
Provenance
The artists, London, England; sold to Nancy and Thomas O'Neil III, Baltimore, Maryland, August 18, 2005; given to present collection, 2014.
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