

I recently saw a painting that reminded me of a book I read last winter, Daniel James Brown’s The Boys in the Boat. The book tells the story of the University of Washington’s men’s rowing team in the 1930s in their pursuit of both national championships and an olympic berth. At that time, the top collegiate crew represented the United States in the grandest international competition, rather than assembling a boat made up of the top rowers from a variety of schools or clubs.

The painting that triggered my memory was Albert Janesch’s Water Sports (1936). Janesch, a 20th century Austrian painter, worked as a war artist in both world wars. He mostly worked in Eastern Europe during World War I, and spanned France to Russia painting in World War II. Water Sports reminded me of Brown’s book because it was painted the same year as the Berlin Olympics and very possibly depicts the German or Austrian rowers that battled the boys from the University of Washington.

The Boys in the Boat is a quick, enjoyable read that covers the sport of rowing, the Depression-era, and Germany’s facade that was the 1936 Berlin Olympics. I identified with this book as an historian and former collegiate rower, and recommend it to anyone interested in the aforementioned subjects.