Sport and art were two of the major strands that wrapped together in the DNA of Baron Pierre de Coubertin.  Although he spent most of his career advocating for the integration of sport and games into every level of education, he never lost sight of the important value of art as a teaching tool.  He believed in the development of the whole human being, intellectually, physically, emotionally—and creatively.  In his assessment, art instruction belonged not only to the gifted creatives who revealed their talent, but to those with unrecognized artistic impulses—and generally to all students for an appreciation of the role of art and beauty in modern life.  This passage is drawn from the Baron’s essay, “Art in Education,” which appeared in his book, “Notes on Public Education” in 1901.

“The educational system must also take into consideration those fortunate students who can feel art. (It) must try to make art understood by all. It must give some the opportunity to feel it, and it must also encourage the halting efforts of those who act, of those who are already trying to express what they feel ... Art is not some decoration to be superimposed on a finished object. It is part of the very essence of the individual who feels its impulse.”