Sports fans and art enthusiasts, two seemingly different communities, were connected by this year Super Bowl as museums from Boston and Philadelphia also bet on the game. The champion took home not only with the prize money but also a loan of masterpiece from the art museum represented by the other team.
New Englang Patriots (wearing white) faced off against Philadelphia Eagles (wearing midnight green)
The Super Bowl 2018 was a game between New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles. The result would tell whether it is the Patriots winning their record-tying sixth Super Bowl championship or the Eagles winning their first in 58 years.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Philadelphia Museum of Art
Before the game started, the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), Boston and the Philadelphia Museum of Art joined in the competition by making an exciting wager. If the Patriots won, the Philadelphia Museum of Art would loan Benjamin West’s Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the Sky (circa 1763). If the Eagles won, the MFA would offer a free loan of John Singleton Copley’s Mrs. James Warren (Mercy Otis) (circa 1816).
Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the Sky
Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the Sky commemorates Benjamin Franklin's 1752 experiment in Philadelphia in which he demonstrated that lighting is a form of electricity. The painting depicts the moment when a spark of electricity passes through a key attached to a kite flying in a stormy sky.
Mrs. James Warren
Copley's Mrs. James Warren painted Mercy Otis Warren (1728 - 1814) at the age of about thirty-six or thirty-seven. Warren was one of the first chroniclers of the American Revolution and a dedicated campaigner for the patriot cause. She penned a series of plays and parodies mocking Governor Thomas Hutchinson and other Loyalists, essays on political issues, and a volume of poems and dramas written in defense of human liberty and dedicated to George Washington.
To show their support to respective teams, the two museums have announced museum bowl on social media. Interesting images of Super-Bowl-themed masterpieces are posted on their twitter accounts.
Philadelphia Eagles beat New England Patriots, taking home with their first Super Bowl championship with a 41 - 33 victory. Since MFA Boston has lost the bet, Copley's Mrs. James Warren is heading to Philadelphia as a free loan to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl for the first time