LeRoy Neiman's New York

L E ROY NEIMAN’S

N EW YO R K

Fall 2020 Exhibition

THE COLORFUL LIFE OF LEROY NEIMAN LeRoy Neiman was far ahead of his time. He was involved during his distinguished career in many developments that now constitute key aspects of the history of post-World War II art. He made representative art when the art world mostly deemed only abstract art acceptable. He updated the Impressionist breakthrough- the depiction of contemporary leisure life- but while the Impressionists painted middle-class leisure, Neiman took an innovative route, depicting celebrities and spectacles... he figured out how to adjust art for a media world where television made celebrities the currency of everyday life.

Through his association with Playboy magazine, and friendship with Hugh Hefner, he played a key role in gaining social acceptance for art to depict female nudity as enjoyable and exciting without it needing to be attached to a religious or classical figure as in almost all previous art history. This is a huge list of achievements.

Left: LeRoy Neiman at work on Tavern on the Green

Photographed by George Kalinsky

Neiman filled the void left by the flight from representation by depicting contemporary leisure life. One of the most innovative aspects of the Impressionists was their depiction of middle-class leisure. As the art historian, Meyer Shapiro, writes, “It is remarkable how many pictures we have in early Impressionism of informal and spontaneous sociability- breakfasts, picnics, promenades, boating trips, holidays- these urban idylls... present the objective forms of bourgeois

Photographed by Lynn Quayle

Above: LeRoy Neiman in his studio in NYC Facing page: LeRoy Neiman sketching the Brooklyn Bridge

recreation in the 1860s and 70s.� Yet while the themes of the Impressionists, prescient and avant-garde in the nineteenth century, still appeal to modern audiences, much of their appeal is now linked to their value as records of an earlier age. It is in Neiman’s work that we can find arguably the liveliest, most creative, and most socially-aware depiction of the leisure life of the post-World War II decades. Further, he applied vibrant color in depicting this spectacular imagery.

Neiman’s 2012 passing in Manhattan, aged 91, was inevitably an occasion for assessing his place in the pantheon of great artists. The New York Times, in a front-page tribute, that included a color photograph of the artist, compared him to Norman Rockwell and Andrew Wyeth. Art historian Richard Brilliant located him in multiple traditions- Dutch and German artists in the 16th and 17th centuries, when popular prints were widely accepted and whose popular subjects in paintings fill our museums; Italian artists of the 18th and 19th centuries, who created works for an international clientele, depicting contemporary Italian life in the countryside, works of Rome and Venice which have been avidly sought ever since; and the Ashcan School, represented by Robert Henri, George Bellows and Reginald Marsh, who portrayed American life in works that fully captured the spirited, worthy engagement in the drama of daily life experienced by ordinary individuals.

Neiman is indeed a pivotal figure who has given us one of the most important accounts of art and culture over the last six decades. Now that the art world acknowledges that the movement away from representative art was a detour rather than the one, true path, there can be no doubt that Neiman stands as one of the great artists of his time.

-David Halle, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles

Photographed by Lynn Quayle

Cellos at Alice Tully Hall Felt pen on paper 11 x 8 1/2 inches 1983

Vla New Pas car 25 x 197

adimir Horowitz, w York Philharmonic stel and charcoal on rdboard x 14 1/2 inches 78

Vladimir Horowitz Acrylic and enamel on board 22.5 x 26 inches 1968

Ballet Dancer Ink on paper 9 x 11 inches 1985

Dancers Bumping at Studio 54, NYC Felt pen on paper 12 x 15 3/8 inches 1979

Smalls in Harlem Marker on paper 11 7/8 x 14 3/4 inches 1976

Count Basie, NY Mixed media on paper 13 1/8 x 13 1/4 inches 1976

Facing page: Jesse Jackson Felt on paper 16 x 12 7/8 inches 1969

Lights of Broadway Acrylic, pen and collage on paper 22 1/2 x 30 inches 2001

Mayor David Dinkins Felt pen and pastel on paper 13 1/4 x 14 3/4 inches 1989

9/11 Fireman’s Helmet Charcoal and pastel on paper 30 1/4 x 36 inches 2001

Cabbie Ink and felt pen on paper 4 1/2 x 5 3/4 inches 1999

Frank Sinatra on the Detective Set Ink and felt pen on paper 12 1/2 x 16 inches 1967

New York Daily News Press Room Felt pen and colored pencil on paper 21 x 19 inches 1980

New York Stock Exchange Mixed media on paper 25 x 37.5 inchees 1967

Facing page: New York Hotel, Fight Night Ink and felt on paper 15 x 12 inches 1971

7th Ave Subway Felt pen on stationary 11 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches 1987

Mike Tyson News Conference at Sylvia’s in Harlem Pastel and charcoal on paper 11 3/4 x 19 inches 1995

Mets Pitcher Watercolor on paper 21 3/8 x 19 1/2 inches 1996

Reggie Jackson Acrylic and enamel on board 59 1/2 x 47 inches 1993

Fernando Valenzuela Mixed media on paper 15 1/4 x 13 inches 1981

Reggie Strikes Out Under a Full Moon Felt pen and watercolor on paper 15 1/4 x 13 inches 1980

Joe Torre Ink and felt pen on paper 13 1/4 x 14 inches 2002

Swoboda Felt pen on paper 16 1/4 x 12 1/4 inches 1967

Manager Yogi Berra and Jerry Koosman Ink and felt pen on paper 16 3/4 x 12 7/8 inches 1973

Facing page: Central Park Boat House Acrylic and enamel on board 48 x 36 inches 2002

Oak Bar, Plaza NY Felt pen on paper 11 1/4 x 10 3/4 inches 1965

Sake at Restaurant Mitsukoshi in NYC Marker and ink on menu 13 1/4 x 9 5/8 inhes 1983

Wine and Flowers at Caoch House NY Mixed media on menu 16 x 23 inches 1983

“The Coffin” Mixed media on menu 11 x 17 inches 1985

Riviera Toast at Restaurant Laurent, NYC Mixed media on menu 13 3/8 x 10 inches 1982

Facing page: Jams Mixed media on paper 11 x 8 3/4 inches 1986

Elaine’s Mixed media on paper 13 3/4 x 19 inches 2006

F.D. Chapot on San Lucas at the National Horse Show New York Mixed media on paper 5 x 6 7/8 inches 1966

Shuffleboard at NYC Nursing Home Marker on paper 16 1/2 x 23 inches 1973

The Garbage Strike Ink, felt pen and colored pencil on paper 12 1/2 x 18 5/8 inches 1975

Walt Frazier Ink and felt pen on paper 16 3/8 x 12 inches 1970

Dr. J During the National Anthem Felt pen on paper 14 3/4 x 11 7/8 inches 1975

John McEnroe Felt pen and watercolor on paper 14 3/4 x 11 7/8 inches 1979

Facing page: Jets Acrylic on paper 20 x 17 3/4 inches 1969

Joe Namath Acrylic and enamel on board 15 1/2 x 7 3/4 inches 1965