1975 "Mixed Doubles" Original Oil on Board Painting by LeRoy Neiman....

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A massive masterpiece from the legendary sports artist...

1975 "Mixed Doubles" Original Oil on Board Painting by LeRoy Neiman. One need only refer to the Permanent Auction Archives of our website to witness the soaring trajectory of Neiman sales in recent years. While there's no question that the ninety-one year old artist's passing in June 2012 has fermented interest in Neiman's distinctive style, the trend owes far more to the greater shift in the American art market that has seen enormous gains in the commercial art of painters from Joseph Leyendecker to Gil Elvgren to Norman Rockwell. A new generation of art collectors has come to realize that the upturned noses of their predecessors toward such artists had been an error in need of correction, and that a commission for The Saturday Evening Post or the cover of a boxing program did not preclude a work's assignment under the heading of "Fine Art."

Neiman's ebullient impressionistic style has enjoyed decades of popularity among the general male population since his buddy Hugh Hefner gave him his start at Playboy, and he quickly became synonymous with sports art, creating program covers for Heavyweight Championship fights, the Indy 500 and the World Series. But we still find ourselves near the very beginning of his wider acceptance in the rarefied air of galleries from Soho to Beverly Hills, suggesting the real pricing boom is still around the corner.

Those believing that Neiman's path will mirror those of Rockwell and Elvgren willl see tremendous opportunity here, in this enormous (47x47") oil on board that has been widely reproduced in lithographic and poster format. We've only been able to definitively identify the iconic Billie Jean King among the subjects, though the other female bears a strong resemblance to Chris Evert.

The dazzling color palette and thick paint application, hallmarks of the Neiman style, are in full effect here, satisfying every craving of top collectors of the genre's top practitioner. Close inspection reveals a couple tiny chips of paint loss--a common fault resulting from Neiman's impasto style--each no larger than the sliver of a fingernail and effectively invisible from any reasonable viewing distance. Our catalog imagery should convey that the effect is negligible. Final framed dimensions are 55x55".