LE R OY N E I MAN 2016
II
..
2016 L E R OY N E I MA N
Fr ankl in Bowles Gal leries san francisco / new y or k
OPPOSITE:
Can-Can 1964 – 69 acrylic and enamel on board 24 x 30 in. /
FRONT COVER:
Roulette, Las Vegas (detail) 1958 – see page 33
LEROY
N E I M A N: V I S I O N S
OF
THE
GOOD
LIFE
The post-World War II era offered a striking departure from the austerity and sacrifice of previous decades. In the 1930s and forties, Americans’ ability to attain personal pleasure and material well-being had been stymied by depression and war. The nation’s return to peace and prosperity breathed new life into these aspirations. Advertisements, television shows, and glossy mass magazines—which color popular memory of the era—served as visual hallmarks of postwar abundance: scenes of split-level ranch houses, suburban shopping malls, backyard barbecues, and family togetherness. The art of LeRoy Neiman captured and celebrated a different realm of enjoyment and plenty—one of bars and nightclubs, fine dining and travel destinations, casinos and sporting events—as it explored the glamour and glitter of the world of commercial leisure. Neiman first reached a wide audience through his contributions to Playboy, the magazine which began in 1953 and enticed male readers with a combination of racy nudes and an emphasis on the pleasures and material trappings of stylish bachelorhood. The Playmate centerfold attracted readers to a publication bursting with consumer possibilities—in the form of advertisements and lifestyle features—on everything from gourmet food and well-mixed cocktails to sports cars and exotic travel destinations. Playboy enthused about all that American consumer society offered, encouraging readers to pursue material acquisition as avidly as sexual experience. In both arenas, Playboy advised, there was no reason to feel guilty about one’s desires. LeRoy Neiman gave artistic expression to the version of the good life evoked in that magazine, where pleasure and leisure, sex and status all came together. Neiman began his association with Playboy as a fiction and fashion illustrator, his work first appearing in the September 1954 issue
Admiring the View 1965 – see page 11
to complement a Charles Beaumont story, “Black Country.” Neiman’s art soon became a fixture of the magazine. A portrayal of Dizzy Gillespie accompanied an essay about the great jazz innovator. Sketches inspired by scenes from the writings of Jack Kerouac, Budd Schulberg, and many others appeared alongside their stories. Lush illustrations of debonair men in smoking
5
jackets, couples mingling during a weekend country getaway, linked sartorial style to a relaxed, upscale lifestyle. Neiman captured Playboy’s enthusiasm for the female form with his creation of the “Femlin,” the scantily-clad pixie-like character who adorned the monthly Party Jokes page. In 1958, the artist commenced his most notable work for Playboy, “Man at His Leisure,” a regular feature that ran for fifteen years and took him on assignment throughout the United States and Europe. This series represented an important chapter in Neiman’s longtime engagement with the sites and scenes enjoyed by the bon vivant during a career that resulted in the creation of a visual chronicle of postwar American leisure. More than merely documenting the commercial amusements and pleasurable pastimes available to well-heeled individuals, Neiman, through his vibrant subject matter and vivid style helped to construct and trumpet a vision of the good life. Such a vision was in sync with rising affluence and an ethos of self-gratification that helped fuel the engines of postwar consumer capitalism. Dining, sports, gaming, travel, entertainment: “Man at His Leisure” presented Neiman’s sketches and painting with descriptions of partaking in fine wine and gourmet food, hobnobbing with celebrities and power brokers, relaxing in regal splendor, and enjoying top-notch service in private clubs, at exclusive restaurants, aboard transatlantic luxury jets and ocean liners. The locations came from far and wide: elite eateries—Romanoff’s in Hollywood, Ernie’s in San Francisco, The Pump Room in Chicago, The Colony and Sardi’s in New York, the famed Maxim’s in Paris; showgirls backstage at the Lido; bunnies at the Playboy Club; racecourses from Hialeah to Longchamp; the casinos of Las Vegas and Monte Carlo; and prize fighting at Madison Square Garden. Such venues bespoke a typically masculine leisure realm where sex, money, drink, and sport came together. Renderings of the private clubs of the privileged classes, pursuits such as fox hunting, and the international LeRoy Neiman sketching in Washington Square Park, San Francisco
playground of the French Riviera conveyed airs of both conviviality and exclusivity. Neiman served as a contemporary flâneur, whose keen observations and recorded impressions allowed viewers to gaze vicariously at the modern world. His impressionistic style and cosmopolitan subject matter
combined to romanticize urban life and leisure. In showcasing Neiman’s artwork and highlighting his travel exploits, the series presented Neiman himself as an itinerant artist enjoying the good life readers could imbibe from his paintings.
6
In the 1950s and 1960s, Neiman’s association with Playboy brought him to the attention of millions. In subsequent decades, he gained further renown for his portrayals of celebrities, entertainers, sporting events, and other leisure pursuits. Throughout his career, Neiman’s approach and subject matter often bridged a gulf between exclusiveness and accessibility. Depictions of elite venues nevertheless invited viewers into the scene. Images of skiing at posh mountain resorts or sunbathing on faraway shores populated by the jet-set resonated with desires for out-of-the-ordinary experiences in an era when vacation time was becoming the norm and international air-travel put distant venues within reach. Television’s rise initially threatened to pull audiences away from the nation’s sports arenas by giving fans the ability to watch from the comfort of home. In the long run, however, television built bigger audiences for spectator sports, whose enthusiasm for the spectacle of competition Neiman tapped with his iconic serigraphs. Televised appearances of the artist at work during such nationally-heralded events as the Superbowl and the Olympics made Neiman himself a recognizable figure. Critical acclaim often eluded Neiman during his lifetime, but his distinctive style and subject matter won broad appeal. From a twenty-first century perspective, Neiman’s embrace by an appreciative audience offers a barometer of Americans’ fascination with sport, spectacle, celebrity, and the good life over the second half of the last century, his rich body of work comprising a vital artifact of postwar American culture. – E L I Z A B E T H F R AT E R R I G O Associate Professor, Loyola University Chicago
Woman with Pearls (detail) - see page 81
The most important thing is to just do it. If I work at a higher level I have responsibility to do better than what I've done before. Sometimes the best happens – beyond possibility. Just do it. Can't worry about it.
– LeR oy Neiman
OPPOSITE:
Aspen Mountain Rendezvous 2001 acrylic and enamel on board 60 x 65 in.
9
Two Playboy Bunnies 1965 acrylic and enamel on board 9 x 5.75 in.
10
Admiring the View 1965 acrylic and enamel on board 30 x 22.5 in.
Laying Down in Her Party Dress 1964 acrylic and enamel on board 30 x 22.5 in.
Showgirl 1965 acrylic and enamel on board 9 x 5.75 in.
13
Spectator Jumping the Fence at Epsom 1966 mixed media on paper 5 x 6.75 in.
Peter O'Sullivan at Royal Ascot 1979 mixed media on paper 9.5 x 15 in.
14
Covert Epsom Spectator 1960 mixed media on paper 9.5 x 13.5 in.
Horse Racing Gentleman 1960 mixed media on paper 12 x 9.5 in.
15
Billiards 1975 acrylic and enamel on board 12 x 24 in.
16
Cigarette Girl 1980 acrylic and enamel on canvas 40 x 30 in.
Princess Soraya at L'escale in St. Tropez 1962 mixed media on paper 15 x 12.5 in.
18
Private Residence Gaming in London mixed media on paper 12.75 x 15.25 in.
Jim McMullen Restaurant 1983 mixed media on paper 13.25 x 7 in.
Houstonian, Texas mixed media on paper 16 x 8 in.
19
Try Our Wines by the 'Ass mixed media on paper 8 x 7.5 in.
Lutece 1981 mixed media on paper 11.5 x 7 in.
20
Wine at Le Perroquet in Chicago 1983 mixed media on paper 11 x 17 in.
21
22
Carousel 1959 acrylic and enamel on board 23.5 x 47.5 in.
23
There's no greatest moment in the arts. It's a life, it's a continuity thing. You can't have a great moment because it's spiritual. It's a belief, it's a calling. If
you're an artist, doing your own thing on your own, it's while you're doing it that counts. It's a process.
If you get too elated, you can get too depressed. – L eR oy Neim an
24
Leopard Appaloosa and Dalmation 1976 mixed media on paper 18 x 24 in.
25
26
Cape Buffalo 1984 mixed media on paper 18 x 24 in.
OPPOSITE:
Portrait of the Black Panther 2001 acrylic and enamel on board 20 x 20.5 in.
27 27
Columbia Lion 1996 mixed media on paper 12 x 14.5 in.
28
Rooster Head mixed media on paper 9.5 x 7.75 in.
OPPOSITE:
Rooster 2006 acrylic and enamel on board 48 x 60 in.
Maltese 1967 mixed media on paper 16.25 x 12 in.
30
Conte Kitten 1996 mixed media on paper 17.75 x 15 in.
Black Poodle 1967 mixed media on paper 12 x 18 in.
Poodle Jumps for Rose 1967 mixed media on paper 18 x 15.75 in.
31
Corsican at Roulette 1986 mixed media on paper 18.25 x 17 in.
32
Roulette, Las Vegas 1958 acrylic and enamel on canvas 44.25 x 36 in.
LEFT:
Sic - Bo Dealers 1980 acrylic and enamel on canvas 30 x 24 in. OPPOSITE:
High Stakes Blackjack, Vegas 2006 acrylic and enamel on canvas 36 x 48 in.
34
Oxford - Cambridge Rowing 1962 mixed media on paper 19 x 26 in.
36
Tomba La Bomba 1988 acrylic and enamel on board 12 x 18 in.
Mark Messier 1996 mixed media on paper 28.75 x 19.25 in.
37
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, and art has made me pull the best out of myself.
– L eRoy Neiman
Ronan Rafferty 1991 mixed media on paper 11 x 6 in.
38
15th Hole 1969 acrylic and enamel on board 22 x 30 in.
39
Jose Reyes 2008 mixed media on paper 20 x 22.25 in.
40
Mike Piazza 1999 mixed media on paper 8 x 10.75 in.
Chicago Player mixed media on paper 15 x 12.5 in.
41
LeRoy Neiman with Joe Dimaggio
...Derek Jeter
Derek Jeter 2007 mixed media on paper 17 x 14 in.
42
... Reggie Jackson
Yankee Stadium Batting Practice 1996 mixed media on paper 22.25 x 30 in.
43
Wade Boggs 1986 mixed media on paper 9.5 x 12.5 in.
Steve Garvey with Kids 1984 mixed media on paper 15 x 13.25 in.
44
Keith mixed media on paper 11 x 8.75 in. Dwight Gooden 1984 mixed media on paper 14.25 x 11.25 in.
45
Paul Newman, Mario Andretti and Michael Andretti 1990 mixed media on paper 15 x 13.5 in.
46
ABOVE: RIGHT:
Michael Jordan 1989 mixed media on paper 12.75 x 9.25 in.
Joe Namath 1965 acrylic and enamel on board 15.5 x 7.75 in.
48
Longchamp Paddock 1961 acrylic and enamel on canvas 28.5 x 46 in.
49
The people who love my paintings, that respond to them the most,
they’re spectaors, they’re not viewers.
– LeRoy Neim an
Resting Jockey 1960 acrylic and enamel on board 34 x 19 in.
50
Canonero II: A Horse, His Groom and His Trainer 1971 mixed media on paper 17 x 13.2 in.
51
Jockies and Horses 1958 acrylic and enamel on board 10 x 24 in.
52
Paddock Ladies 1960 acrylic and enamel on board 19 x 25 in.
53
Racecourse 1963 acrylic and enamel on board 18 x 24 in.
Jockey #5 1969 acrylic and enamel on board 10 x 11.25 in.
55
Horse Studies 1957 mixed media on paper 8.25 x 11 in.
Hunter's Dresssing Room, England 1975 mixed media on paper 16.5 x 13.25 in.
56
Saint - Cloud 1962 mixed media on paper 18 x 22.5 in.
57
58
OPPOSITE:
Country Hunt 1972 mixed media on paper 23 x 29 in. RIGHT:
Equestrienne 1974 acrylic and enamel on board 23.5 x 12 in.
59
Scottsdale Arabian Horse Auction 1978 mixed media on paper 18 x 24 in.
60
Easy Goer in Barn 14 mixed media on paper 12.75 x 9.25 in.
Polo Match 1963 acrylic and enamel on board 24 x 32 in.
61
Porcelain Nude on Running Horse mixed media on paper 14.5 x 14 in.
Three Horse Heads 1977 mixed media on paper 31.5 x 22.25 in.
62
Oval Horse mixed media on paper 10.25 x 14.5 in.
63
The big shock of my life was Abstract Expressionism –
Pollock, de Kooning, those
guys. It changed my work. I was an academically-
trained student, and sud-
denly you could pour paint, smear it on, broom it on!
– L eRoy Neiman
Wallace Roney 1990 mixed media on paper 12.5 x 9.5 in.
64
OPPOSITE:
Four Trombones 1961 acrylic and enamel on board 48 x 96 in.
Julliard Violinist 1985 mixed media on paper 12.5 x 9.5 in.
66
Sax Man 2004 mixed media on paper 10 x 8.5 in.
Orchestra mixed media on paper 12.5 x 17 in.
67
Cannonball Adderly #2 1965 acrylic and enamel on board 47 x 35 in.
Louis Armstrong 1968 acrylic and enamel on board 48.25 x 36.75 in.
Busker Alley Dancer 1995 mixed media on paper 19 x 13.5 in.
70
Busker Alley Girl 1995 mixed media on paper 19 x 13.5 in.
Camerawoman 1972 mixed media on paper 13.25 x 20 in.
71
Bikini Reader in Acapulco mixed media on paper 4.5 x 8.5 in.
72
Pink Nude 1961 acrylic and enamel on board 10.25 x 7.5 in. Woman Stepping Up 1947 mixed media on paper 25 x 19 in.
73
Seated Woman Fixing Hair 1962 mixed media on paper 14.5 x 10.5 in.
74
Nude with Guitar Player 1989 mixed media on paper 23 x 9.75 in.
Woman with John 1989 mixed media on paper 13 x 15 in.
Nude and John 1989 mixed media on paper 16 x 11.75 in.
75
I always stayed in tune
with my own ambitions and attitudes and I'm
still my intractable old self, for better or worse. – LeRoy Neiman
Some Sun Fun 1970 acrylic and enamel on board 32.25 x 24 in.
76
Nymphs 1960 acrylic and enamel on canvas 76 x 60 in.
Cowgirl Models 1999 mixed media on paper 10 x 13.5 in.
78
Playboy Bunny mixed media on paper 13.75 x 16.75 in.
79
London Female 1966 mixed media on paper 12.25 x 10 in.
80
Flamenco Dancer 2000 mixed media on paper 29 x 23 in.
Woman Posing on Floor mixed media on paper 15 x 20.25 in.
Woman with Pearls mixed media on paper 18 x 12 in.
81
Woman at Caffe Florian in Venice 1960 mixed media on paper 13.25 x 15.25 in.
82
Flamenco Dancer and Bull 2000 mixed media on paper 30 x 22 in.
83
Cannes Woman Walking mixed media on paper 13.25 x 8.5 in.
Bikini Girls 1971 mixed media on paper 23.5 x 17.75 in.
84
Nude on Couch 1980 mixed media on paper 18 x 24 in.
85
Ballerina mixed media on paper 14 x 12 in.
Black Marilyn 1963 mixed media on paper 14.75 x 12 in.
86
Pas de Cheval Ballerina mixed media on paper 13.5 x 14.5 in.
87
Ramen Eater 1983 mixed media on paper 13.25 x 14.75 in.
Japanese Women 1947 mixed media on paper 12 x 18 in.
88
I have always said to young
artists that scholastic training
and the studying of art history are crucial to fully developing as an artist.
– L eR oy Neiman
Chicago Magnificent Mile Man 1960 mixed media on paper 12 x 10.25 in.
89
Hamptons Beachgoers 1972 mixed media on paper 11.5 x 17.25 in.
90
Hawaiian Surfer 1965 acrylic and enamel on board 47.5 x 71 in.
91
Hawaiian Longboards 1968 acrylic and enamel on board 17.5 x 24 in.
92
Tricep Pose 1982 mixed media on paper 15 x 9 in.
Couple Paddle Out at Topanga Beach, California 1966 mixed media on paper 13.5 x 19.25 in.
93
St. Tropez 1962 acrylic and enamel on board 31.75 x 23.5 in.
94
Mahl, Yugoslavia 1969 mixed media on paper 19 x 24.5 in.
95
Regimental Guard 1962 acrylic and enamel on board 11 x 5.75 in.
96
Parisian Street Sculpture mixed media on paper 12.25 x 15 in.
Russian Cossack Over Moscow 1968 acrylic and enamel on board 30 x 24 in.
97
Brussels 1961 mixed media on paper 12.5 x 15.75 in.
98
Place du Casino, Monte Carlo 1981 mixed media on paper 36.5 x 49.5 in.
99
100
Manhattan Panorama 1980 – 84 acrylic and enamel on board 48 x 84 in.
101
Revolution in Berkely Square, London 1968 mixed media on paper 10.5 x 13.75 in.
102
The Den mixed media on paper 14 x 33.5 in.
103
Jack Benny in Baroque Costume 1959 mixed media on paper 16 x 11.5 in.
104
Jimmy Durante as a Bill Baird Puppet 1985 mixed media on paper 22.5 x 15 in.
Sammy Davis and Jerry Lewis 1968 mixed media on paper 16.25 x 12.5 in.
Frank Sinatra in Tony Rome 1967 mixed media on paper 17 x 13.75 in.
105
Sammy Davis Jr. on Drums 1965 acrylic and enamel on board 46.5 x 35 in.
LeRoy Neiman with Franklin Bowles
107
Andy Warhol 1972 mixed media on paper 14 x 10.75 in.
108
Vargas 1979 mixed media on paper 14.75 x 11.75 in.
Dalai Lama, at 68 Years Old 2003 mixed media on paper 14 x 10.5 in.
109
Gina Lolobridgida 1962 mixed media on paper 9.5 x 6.75 in.
Portrait of Nureyev 1988 mixed media on paper 21 x 17 in.
110
Jerry Brown 1992 mixed media on paper 11.25 x 9.75 in.
Donald T mixed media on paper 11.75 x 9.5 in.
111
Toro 1965 acrylic and enamel on board 5.5 x 12 in.
112
OPPOSITE:
Torero 1968 acrylic and enamel on board 48 x 60 in.
Toreador 1960 acrylic and enamel on board 19.75 x 24 in.
114
I don't know if I'm an impressionist or an expressionist. You can call
me an American first... I've been labeled doing “neimanism,” so that's what it is, I guess. – L eR oy Neim an
Spanish Matador 1967 acrylic and enamel on board 18.25 x 10.5 in.
115
Maasai Warriors 2002 mixed media on paper 20 x 15.25 in.
Warrior, Lion Hunter's Tribe 1970 mixed media on paper 15 x 11 in.
Samburu, Kenyan Women 1970 mixed media on paper 24.75 x 21.5 in.
117
Venetian Mask 1993 mixed media on paper 23.75 x 18 in.
118
Astrology Centaur mixed media on paper 15.75 x 19.75 in.
119
Bobcat mixed media on paper 10.5 x 7.25 in.
120
Weather Vane mixed media on paper 12.25 x 11.5 in.
INDEX 15th Hole Admiring the View Andy Warhol Aspen Mountain Rendezvous Astrology Centaur Ballerina Bikini Girls Bikini Reader in Acapulco Billiards Black Marilyn Black Poodle Blondes of Venice Bobcat Brussels Busker Alley Dancer Busker Alley Girl Camerawoman Can-Can Cannes Woman Walking Cannonball Adderly #2 Canonero II: A Horse, His Groom and His Trainer Cape Buffalo Carousel Chicago Magnificent Mile Man Chicago Player Cigarette Girl Columbia Lion Conte Kitten Corsican at Roulette Country Hunt Couple Paddle Out at Topanga Beach, California Covert Epsom Spectator Cowgirl Models Dalai Lama, at 68 Years Old The Den
39 11 108 8 119 86 84 72 16 86 31 123 120 98 70 70 71 2 84 68 51 27 22–23 89 41 17 28 30 32 58 93 15 78 109 103
Derek Jeter Donald T Dwight Gooden Easy Goer in Barn 14 Equestrienne Flamenco Dancer Flamenco Dancer and Bull Four Trombones Frank Sinatra in Tony Rome Gina Lolobridgida Hamptons Beachgoers Hawaiian Longboards Hawaiian Surfer High Stakes Blackjack, Vegas Horse Racing Gentleman Horse Studies Houstonian, Texas Hunter's Dresssing Room, England Jack Benny in Baroque Costume Japanese Women Jerry Brown Jim McMullen Restaurant Jimmy Durante as a Bill Baird Puppet Jockey #5 Jockies and Horses Joe Namath Jose Reyes Julliard Violinist Keith Laying Down in Her Party Dress Leopard Appaloosa and Dalmation London Female Longchamp Paddock\ Louis Armstrong Lutece Maasai Warriors
42 111 45 60 59 80 83 65 105 110 90 92 91 35 15 56 19 56 104 88 111 19 104 55 52 47 40 66 45 12 25 80 48-49 69 20 116 121
Mahl, Yugoslavia Maltese Manhattan Panorama Mark Messier Michael Jordan Mike Piazza Nude and John Nude on Couch Nude with Guitar Player Nymphs Orchestra Oval Horse Oxford-Cambridge Rowing Paddock Ladies Parisian Street Sculpture Pas de Cheval Ballerina Paul Newman, Mario Andretti and Michael Andretti Peter O'Sullivan at Royal Ascot Pink Nude Place du Casino, Monte Carlo Playboy Bunny Polo Match Poodle Jumps for Rose Porcelain Nude on Running Horse Portrait of Nureyev Portrait of the Black Panther Princess Soraya at L'escale in St. Tropez Private Residence Gaming in London Racecourse Ramen Eater Regimental Guard Resting Jockey Revolution in Berkely Square, London Ronan Rafferty Rooster Rooster Head Roulette, Las Vegas 122
95 30 100–101 37 47 41 75 85 74 77 67 63 36 53 96 87 46 14 73 99 79 61 31 62 110 26 18 18 54 88 96 50 102 38 29 28 33
Russian Cossack Over Moscow Saint -Cloud Samburu, Kenyan Women Sammy Davis and Jerry Lewis Sammy Davis Jr. on Drums Sao Paulo Stock Exchange Sax Man Scottsdale Arabian Horse Auction Seated Woman Fixing Hair Showgirl Sic-Bo Dealers Some Sun Fun Spanish Matador Spectator Jumping the Fence at Epsom St. Tropez Steve Garvey with Kids Three Horse Heads Tomba La Bomba Torero Toreador Toro Tricep Pose Try Our Wines by the 'Ass Two Playboy Bunnies Vargas Venetian Mask Wade Boggs Wallace Roney Warrior, Lion Hunter's Tribe Weather Vane Wine at Le Perroquet in Chicago Woman at Caffe Florian in Venice Woman Posing on Floor Woman Stepping Up Woman with John Woman with Pearls Yankee Stadium Batting Practice
97 57 23 117 33 105 26 106 2 124 45 66 89 60 74 110 13 9 34 69 76 102 115 43 14 16 94 6 44 62 77 37 78 113 52 114 66 112 19 93 85 20 64 10 108 63 118 8 44 74 64 44 116 88 120 72 21 23 82 81 66 73 85 75 43 81 16 43
Blondes of Venice mixed media on paper 22.25 x 30 in.
123
Sao Paulo Stock Exchange 1985 acrylic and enamel on board 34.5 x 48 in.
SPRING 2016
PROJECT MANAGER :
Ken Amorino /
BACK COVER:
CATALOG DESIGN :
D. Lee Myers /
Longchamp Paddock (detail) 1961 – see page 40–50
ARTIST PHOTOS :
Lynn Quayle
$40
FRANKLIN BOWLES GALLERIES 765 / 799 Beach Street San Francisco CA 94109 415.441.8008 800.926.9535 349 Geary Street San Francisco CA 94102 415.441.8008 800.926.9535 431 West Broadway New York NY 10012 212.226.1616 800.926.9537 ww w.fran k l i n bow l e sgal l e r y.co m