This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/24/2016
There is no more recognized sports personality in the entire world than the great Muhammad Ali. The former World Heavyweight Champion is still considered the “Greatest of All Time” in the hearts of many Ali followers. In this lot, a beautifully done serigraph by the undisputed champion of the sports art world, Leroy Neiman, pays homage to Ali, capturing the champ in his prime. The serigraph is derived from the artist's larger-than-life original oil painting of Ali. Based on sketches made in 1964, the transition period when then-Cassius Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali, it was also the time of Ali's two historic fights with outgoing heavyweight champion Sonny Liston. The serigraph shows Ali as he looked at age 22, a new champion just coming into his prime. The print bursts with color and vitality and brings to life the Ali who "floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee."
In Neiman's own words, "All of my experiences and observations of Ali are summed up in this portrait. This painting is for me the quintessential, colorful, confident Ali. It shows his fighting face, with that theatrical flair, that is so familiar to the world and epitomizes a career that extended to a public far beyond the boxing ring. He was fast with his rhetoric and swift with his fists, and the intent of the painting and print is to emphasize his boundless energy." The limited edition print is numbered 636/850 and is signed by both Muhammad Ali and Leroy Neiman in pencil in the bottom white border. The framed and double-matted serigraph measures 38” wide by 53.5” high. Includes a framed 8 x 10 photo of Ali and Neiman signing the piece together.
COA from Franklin Bowles Galleries. Autographs pre-certified by PSA/DNA.
This lot has a Reserve Price that has not been met.