LeRoy Neiman: Five Decades

LeRoy Neiman: Five Decades by LeRoy Neiman. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780810967953.

This magnificent volume celebrates the 50-year-long career of Americas most popular living artist. Almost 350 color plates-the most complete look at the work of LeRoy Neiman to date-show the rich variety of his subject matter, reveal the evolution and continuities of his style, and offer a lively portrait of modern life in postwar America. For the first time in one book one can see the full depth and range of Neimans oeuvre: his rapid sketches and watercolors and his bold, colorful paintings of the high life, the sporting life, and people in the public eye. Early in his career, Neiman mingled with the great figures of jazz-Armstrong, Fitzgerald, Mingus, and Davis-and his portraits of them are profound. As his reputation flourished he traveled the jet set circuit and depicted urban sophisticates, café society, and cocktail culture. He is perhaps best known for his stunning images of sports legends, from Muhammad Ali and Mickey Mantle to Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan. A wealth of drawings confirms Neimans stature as a master draftsman. Through the creative vision of this beloved artist-an effortless blend of abstraction and realism, line and color, meditation and effusion-we witness the rich, multifaceted spectacle of contemporary life.