12/18/24
June 22, 2012
Sports Artist Leroy Neiman Dies: Legendary sports artist Leroy Neiman died Wednesday at 91. "I've zeroed in on what you would call action and excellence. ... Everybody who does anything to try to succeed has to give the best of themselves," Neiman said in a 2008 interview.
RIP, and thanks for all the great art, Leroy!
posted by scully at 02:34 PM on June 22, 2012
I'm saddened by this news as I look at two of his masterpieces that hang on my wall in my office. He had a very unique style that really brought the casual sports fan into the "art" world, much like Andy Warhol did for a generation.
posted by jagsnumberone at 03:01 PM on June 22, 2012
A New York Times piece annihilates Neiman, except for his creation of Playboy's Femlin.
I loved Neiman as a kid. He would've been my first exposure to expressionist art. One look at a sports painting of his takes me right back to the days when Sports Illustrated and Wide World of Sports were my main channel for following the sports world.
posted by rcade at 07:58 PM on June 22, 2012
I agree with the promotion of this post. As a teenager in the 80's, Neiman was an icon for his pictures of sports figures. I think it is impossible to quantify the influence he had in presenting the world of sports to the world of pop culture, through his long-term association with Playboy and general ubiquity in the public consciousness for a couple of decades. I'm sure some in the art world scoffed at his work, based largely on his favored subject matter, but to those of us who "didn't know any better," he was brilliant.