LeRoy Neiman

LeRoy Neiman was born to Turkish and Swedish parents on June 8, 1927, in St. Paul, Minnesota. As a boy, he earned money painting colorful images on shop windows and produce for local grocers. His artistic talent showed early—he created posters for school dances and athletic events before enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1942. While serving as a military cook, he painted murals in kitchens and dining halls and designed stage sets for Red Cross shows.
After the war, Neiman taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for ten years. He won first prize in the Twin City show for his oil painting “Idle Boats” in 1953 and held his first solo exhibitions that same year in Chicago and Lincoln, Illinois. His work appeared in the “American 25th Biennial Exhibition” in 1957, and he earned a gold medal at the Salon d’Art Moderne in Paris in 1961. Beginning in 1958, Neiman contributed art and writing to Playboy magazine’s “Man at His Leisure” feature for fifteen years.
Neiman became renowned for his vibrant sports paintings covering everything from boxing and basketball to the Olympic Games. His bold, fast-moving brushstrokes and electrifying colors created works that appear abstract up close but resolve into dynamic, recognizable scenes from a distance. He generously supported the arts, including a six-million-dollar gift to Columbia University in 1995. Neiman is represented by Park West Gallery.