OUT OF THE GATE
Racing Fans Remember
Cecile Ryden Johnson By Iseult Devlin
A Johnson
painting
of Phil and
Steve Mahre.
Cecile Ryden
Johnson at work.
COURTESY OF CECILE RYDEN JOHNSON’S FAMILY
On March 7, a memorial service was held in honor Cecile Ryden Johnson — an internationally known painter
of Winter Olympic scenes, sports and exotic landscapes
— at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in New York City, attracting a small crowd of friends, family and former colleagues.
Johnson, who died late last year, was famous for her
on-the-spot action painting at sporting events from World
Cup races and Olympic events to the Kentucky Derby.
“We crossed paths a number of times in places like
Lake Placid and
Aspen, where
I always found
Cecile with that
white fur hat,
her brushes
and her easel,
doing her thing,”
said Doug Wil-
son, a produc-
er/director for
ABC Sports for
50 years and
17-time Emmy
Award winner
who attended the memorial. “Finding someone who was
adding another dimension to the scene was very special
for me, and I included her presence in some of our tele-
casts.”
Selected as the official artist to paint five Olympic Win-
ter Games, Johnson was broadcast live painting on the
slopes and at rinkside by ABC Wide World of Sports,
Canadian Broadcasting, the BBC, CNN and other net-
works.
Johnson was hired to paint live-action portraits of ath-
letes from Bjorn Borg to Jean-Claude Killy, Billy Jean
King, Steve and Phil Mahre as well as sporting events
including the U.S. Open, the Kentucky Derby and the
Olympic hockey game between the U.S. and the USSR
Famous for her watercolors, Johnson produced paint-
ings that “reflect a spontaneous joy of life and are prized
for their luminous qualities, sense of immediacy, power
and intensity,” said Laura Kluthe, who promoted John-
son’s work in ski museums around the country.
Her paintings were featured in many issue of Skiing
magazine, and Johnson’s travels ranged from the summit of Las Lenas, Argentina; to Meribel, France; and
Keystone, Colo. Johnson always had a knack for finding
the unique quality in the areas she painted, an expertise
that led to painting ski resorts for posters, ads and other
marketing materials.
Through her decades of painting and promoting ski areas throughout the world, and particularly across America, Johnson gained recognition as a premier sports artist and effective ambassador for the sport of skiing. Her
artwork did more than simply broaden interest in skiing
or help advertise resorts; it has also helped resorts, ski
museums and athletes raise money for various charities. “Johnson’s work reflects the vitality and freshness
of the mountains, her love of skiing and her gift for capturing luminous light dancing on snow for many years to
come,” said Kluthe.
In 2008, Johnson was awarded the Lifetime Achieve-
ment Award by the North American Snowsports Jour-
nalist Association (NASJA).
At the memorial, her brother, Rev. Ernest Ryden, noted
that Johnson was born before women could vote and
went on to become the first woman to be commissioned
by the U.S. Navy as a combat artist to paint the activities
of WAVES, Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency
Service. Johnson was also famous in art circles, and
her work appeared in many publications including tennis, golf and yachting publications.
Johnson was born in a blizzard in Jamestown, N.Y.,
and never lost her love for snow. “Every time it snowed,”
she once said, “I felt like something exciting was going
to happen — it was just like magic.”
SkiRacing.com MARCH 17, 2011 | 11
