Name: Baseball Exhibit, "Diamonds Are For Ever"

Date: 1985 - 1995

Location: North America

SubjectSexual/Gender Orientation

MediumPainting


image description
Artist: Eric Fischl

Confronting Bodies: Ziff Sistrunk, executive director of Chicago Sports Council

Date of Action: July, 1989

Specific Location: Chicago, Illinois

Description of Artwork: "Boys at Bat" is a painting of a picnic scene with a father and son. The father, completely nude except for a baseball cap, is swinging a baseball bat while the son stands aside holding a bat staring.

Description of Incident: "Diamonds Are Forever," a baseball art exhibit sponsored by Worldwide Cultural Affairs and American Express Company at the Chicago Cultural Center. Sistrunk alleged the painting promotes sexual molestation and homosexuality while using baseball as a front. He met with Cultural Center officials requesting the removal of the painting.

Results of Incident: The painting remained with the support of the Cultural Center and American Express.

Source: Committee For Artists' Rights Archive

Submitted By


Return to Main Category Page | Table of Contents