About This Stamp
The U.S. Postal Service issued a 25-cent commemorative stamp to salute the games of the XXIVth Olympiad on August 19, 1988, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The design depicts a male gymnast performing his routine on the rings. The dedication ceremony was held at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. Gold medalists Joan Benoit Samuelson, Rowdy Gaines, and Bill Toomey were among the principal speakers.
The Olympic games are the greatest athletic event in the world, bringing together the best athletes from countries all around the globe in a spirit of competition and good will. The 1988 Olympic Summer Games occurred from September 17 to October 2 in Seoul, South Korea.
Since 1978, the 34-acre training center in Colorado Springs has been the home of the U.S. Olympic Committee, the central coordinating body in the United States for amateur sports in the Olympic and Pan American games. Of the 205 National Olympic committees in the world (as of 2008), the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) is one of the few that receives no continuing governmental financial support, relying instead on contributions from individuals, businesses, and foundations. The USOC works through 38 national governing bodies for particular sports, not only preparing teams for the games but also providing funding, training, and competitive opportunities for athletes at all skill levels.
Designed by Bart Forbes, the stamps were printed in the photogravure process by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
Stamp Artist
Bart Forbes
Born in Oklahoma, Bart Forbes earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of North Carolina and continued his studies at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.
In more than four decades as one of America's most successful illustrators, Forbes has created artwork for major sporting events including the Kentucky Derby, America's Cup, the Indianapolis 500, the Boston Marathon, the Olympic Games, the Westminster Dog Show, and numerous PGA tournaments. He has also created art for many of America's top magazines including TIME and Sports Illustrated. Among his many corporate clients are NBC, Exxon, Pepsi-Cola, Eastman Kodak, Lockheed, ABC, ESPN, and the National Football League. The Sports Art of Bart Forbes, a collection of many of his famous sports paintings, was published in 1998. His paintings can be found in the private collections of former President George H.W. Bush, Arnold Palmer, Pat Summerall, Tiger Woods, and Jerry Jones.
Forbes, who works from his studio near Dallas, Texas, has recently become interested in a new genre of oil painting embodying primarily landscape and still-life themes painted over richly-textured surfaces.
Forbes has designed 22 postage stamps for the United States Postal Service®, including the 1985 Abigail Adams and 1989 Lou Gehrig commemoratives, five Olympians stamps in 1990, the 1989 America the Beautiful postal cards, the 2011 Ronald Reagan stamp, and the 2016 Sarah Vaughan stamp.