Museum Lends Out Its Robert Henri Painting After Losing Super Bowl Bet

Ahead of this year’s Super Bowl, the Cincinnati Art Museum and California’s Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens agreed on a unique bet, in which the winner would receive a Robert Henri painting on loan.

Cincinnati Art Museum’s Patience Serious (1915) depicts a young girl dressed in blue—the Los Angeles Rams’ official color—while the Huntington’s Irish Girl (1927) dons a white dress with orange trim, similar to the hue of the Bengals’ tiger stripes.

“Patience Serious has been waiting a long time to see her friend. After the Bengals take care of business on the football field on Sunday, she’s invited to Cincinnati for a play Dey,” said Cincinnati’s Art Director Cameron Kitchin before the game, with a nod to the Bengals’ “who dey” chant.

Of course, at the end of the match, it was Huntington who had the last laugh, with the museum tweeting: “Good game @cincyartmuseum—looking forward to hosting Patience Serious at the Huntington soon.” 

According to the Cincinnati Business Courier, this was the first time in four years that museums bet on the Super Bowl.

The idea first came about in 2010, when art journalist Tyler Green suggested a wager between the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the New Orleans Museum of Art.

Before this year’s bet, the last time the wager took place was in 2018, when the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston loaned Mrs James Warren (Mercy Otis) by John Singleton Copley to the Philadelphia Museum of Art when the Eagles won over the Patriots.

Rams for the win! Good game @cincyartmuseum—looking forward to hosting “Patience Serious” at The Huntington soon. 😘 pic.twitter.com/Uww9ND3dLj

— The Huntington (@TheHuntington) February 14, 2022

The Cincinnati Art Museum is making Sunday’s showdown between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams even more exciting for art lovers with a friendly wager. https://t.co/zWbDntpMqJ

— Cincinnati Business Courier (@BusinessCourier) February 10, 2022

[via Artnet News and the Cincinnati Business Courier, cover image via The Huntington]