Leroy Neiman Contemporary Art
LeRoy Neiman, born LeRoy Runquist, is best known for his vibrantly colored paintings and screen prints, which draw on Impressionism and Pop Art and frequently feature portraits of athletes and musicians as well as depictions of sporting events. He is renowned for creating art during live coverage of the Olympics and other major American and international sports competitions. He once commented, “I use (bold) color to emphasize the scent, the spirit, and the feeling of the thing I’ve experienced.”
Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Neiman showed an early aptitude for drawing. After returning home from WWII, he studied at the Saint Paul School of Art and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), where his classmates included Robert Indiana and Leon Golub. Upon graduation in 1950, he began teaching at SAIC.
In 1953, his oil painting Idle Boats won first prize at the Twin City Show, where the Minneapolis Art Institute purchased it. Neiman’s reputation quickly grew, and museums such as the Carnegie Pittsburgh International Exhibition of Contemporary Painting, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington purchased his works.
In 1954, Neiman’s famous association with Playboy magazine began to take shape. Hugh Hefner commissioned Neiman to create an illustration for this fledgling magazine, and his piece won the 1954 Chicago Art Directors Award. This led to a relationship with Playboy that lasted five decades and included Neiman writing and illustrating the “Man at His Leisure” section and the creation of the well-known “Femlin” — a female nymph wearing only opera gloves, stockings and high heels — which appeared on the “Party Jokes” page in every issue since 1955.
In 1970, the 5th Dimension commissioned Neiman to create a cover illustration for the pop group’s album Portrait. In 1994, he created the illustration used for the playbill and the immense Broadway mural for the musical Busker Alley. He was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and awarded the highest honor of the state of Illinois, the Order of Lincoln, in 2009.
Today, you can find Neiman’s works in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Indianapolis Museum of Art (Newfields), among others.
On 1stDibs, find LeRoy Neiman prints, drawings, paintings and more.
1980s American Other Vintage Leroy Neiman Contemporary Art
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1980s North American Modern Vintage Leroy Neiman Contemporary Art
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1970s Vintage Leroy Neiman Contemporary Art
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1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Leroy Neiman Contemporary Art
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1980s American Modern Vintage Leroy Neiman Contemporary Art
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1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Leroy Neiman Contemporary Art
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1970s American Expressionist Vintage Leroy Neiman Contemporary Art
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2010s British Leroy Neiman Contemporary Art
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2010s British Leroy Neiman Contemporary Art
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Late 20th Century American Post-Modern Leroy Neiman Contemporary Art
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1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Leroy Neiman Contemporary Art
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Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Leroy Neiman Contemporary Art
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2010s American Modern Leroy Neiman Contemporary Art
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20th Century French Minimalist Leroy Neiman Contemporary Art
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1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Leroy Neiman Contemporary Art
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Mid-20th Century American Modern Leroy Neiman Contemporary Art
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1980s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Leroy Neiman Contemporary Art
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1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Leroy Neiman Contemporary Art
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Creators Similar to Leroy Neiman
- What style is LeRoy Neiman art?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022LeRoy Neiman’s art gives off the tone of impressionism. He uses vibrant colors and spontaneous and sporadic brush strokes to achieve the final outcome of his work. Shop a selection of LeRoy Neiman’s pieces from some of the world’s top art dealers on 1stDibs.