1994 Sport Artist of the Year

Robert Riger

The Renaissance of Riger

Key Sport Works & World Influence

“There are no accidents in photographing sports… You are in position for the picture you want because in your conceptual design of the action, balanced with the style and skill of the athlete at that moment of the game, there is only one position. Yours. Someone seeing your picture must believe there was no other position, no other point of view. Your work describes the way it was.”
Robert Riger, “The Sports Photography of Robert Riger,” Random House, 1995

For countless sports fans, Robert Riger’s drawings and photographs became the defining images of significant moments in the athletic history of their times. Riger’s work described the way it was. He knew it. He felt it. He caught it.

In keeping with the true essence of The Renaissance, Riger’s images are both new and classical. His art saved the greatest feats and passions of our heroes for us to contemplate. In books, private collections, magazines, news casts, and museums, they stand as historic icons of the human spirit in pursuit of athletic excellence. In the eyes of many generations to come, the grace and power of Riger’s vision will be reborn to inspire sports fans, artists, and students of human striving.

“I have been working on my vision of sports for almost fifty years. It really is a remarkable subject. You just have to keep working at the sports you care about, searching for clarity and simplicity. That’s where the strength is.”
Robert Riger, “The Sports Photography of Robert Riger,” Random House, 1995