CMP Commemorates Centennial with Original Work of Art

The National Matches always offer competitors lots of rewarding range time, but with the 2003 Matches being the Centennial National Matches, this year's matches offered many additional special experiences. Special events this year included the band and speakers at the First Shot Ceremony, the Golden Knights Parachute Team on Garand Day, August 9, a well-attended Centennial Celebration and barbecue and a Guns of Camp Perry exhibition. Another special event was the unveiling and display of an original painting commissioned for the CMP by renowned artist Jerry Antolik.

The oil on canvas painting is a collage of scenes from the history of the National Matches. Most prominent in the piece is one of the landmark lighthouse towers that stand at the entrance to Camp Perry. Those towers have come to symbolize the National Matches to shooters all over the United States. The first woman to earn the Distinguished Rifleman Badge and make the President's 100, Alice Bull, is featured in the painting. She is shown firing her 1903 Springfield rifle in the kneeling position. Also depicted are American soldiers who are firing the Krag rifle that was used during the very first National Matches, a 1930s President's Match presentation and a military team posing for their traditional team photo. The CMP Headquarters in the old Arcade Building and a view of the famous firing line of Camp Perry are shown in the background.

Jerry Antolik is a nationally known and awarded artist from Wyoming, but he is no stranger to Ohio, having attended the Cooper School of Art in Ohio. Best known for his life size paintings and murals, Antolik is most often associated with subject matter found in Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain area. His paintings have depicted stampeding horses, cowboys at work, moose, buffalo and other scenes of the wild. Antolik's work can be found in museums and private collections all over the United States.

The painting was unveiled on July 14th, during a reception that followed the First Shot Ceremony. The painting now is on permanent display in the CMP Headquarters lobby at Camp Perry, Ohio. Posters with the painting were produced for the National Matches and may still be purchased at the CMP Store at Camp Perry or may be ordered from the CMP E-Store. To obtain more information about the painting and the CMP E-Store, open the CMP web site at http://www.odcmp.com/ and then click on the Centennial Painting icon on the home page. The prints cost $14.95 each. These 19"x24" full color prints are suitable for framing.