2023 US Open
Date2023
Dimensions30 x 24 1/4 in. (76.2 x 61.6 cm)
ClassificationsPoster
Credit LineGift of Julia Knight
Object numberPH.7502
DescriptionThis poster celebrates the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Open’s groundbreaking 1973 decision to offer equal prize money to its men and women tennis players. Star player Billie Jean King, the US Women’s Open Champion the previous year, played a critical role in this historic development. Her prize money in 1972 had been just $10,000 while Ilie Nastase, the men’s champion, had been paid $25, 000. King’s objections and her suggestion that she might boycott future U.S. Open tournaments persuaded the organization to establish financial parity in prizes. The poster, issued in four different colorways, appropriately features a portrait of Billie Jean King as she appeared in the early 1970s with the Chrysler Building and Statue of Liberty, great emblems of New York City, in the background. It was designed by Brazilian illustrator Camila Pinheiro, chosen from among five finalists and the first woman to design the theme art for the U.S. Open in a decade. “I wanted to convey a feeling of celebration, joy, enthusiasm,” she has said of the project. “In the case of this specific art, which is a portrait, the person must be recognized, which is an even bigger challenge when it comes to a design that I tried to simplify as much as possible.”On View
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