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.
Sensual Belly Dancers, Morocco
By LeRoy Neiman
Located in Miami, FL
We are presenting a rare opportunity to acquire one of Leroy Neiman's best and most compelling paintings. It is a statement piece. A combination of enticing subject matter with a mon...
Oil, Board
Dick Tiger, Boxing Painting by Leroy Neiman 1967
By LeRoy Neiman
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: LeRoy Neiman, American (1921 - 2012) Title: Dick Tiger Year: 1967 Medium: Acrylic on Paper, signed and dated l.r. Size: 26 in. x 44 in. (66.04 cm x 111.76 cm) Frame Size...
Acrylic
"Frank Sinatra as Tony Rome"
By LeRoy Neiman
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim's of Lambertville Fine Art Gallery is proud to present this piece by LeRoy Neiman (1921 – 2012). LeRoy Neiman was born in 1921 in St. Paul, Minnesota. He displayed a great talent for art at a young age, working as an illustrator for local grocery stores as a teenager. Even after being drafted into the Army in 1942, he spent his spare time painting murals on the walls of kitchens and mess halls, where he served as a cook. Once the Army’s Special Services Division took notice of his talents, he was sent to work on painting stage sets for Red Cross shows in Germany after the war. Upon returning to the United States, Neiman enrolled briefly at the St. Paul School of Art before attending the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and later, teaching figure drawing and fashion illustration there. While working at the Art Institute of Chicago, Neiman discovered his primary medium, enamel house paint, when a janitor threw out some half-empty cans of it next door to his apartment. From this medium, he embraced a technique of rapid paint application. While freelancing as an illustrator for the Chicago department store, Carson Pirie Scott, in the 1950s, Neiman met Hugh Hefner, who would become a great friend and help establish his artistic reputation. In 1954, Hefner showed Neiman’s paintings to Playboy’s Art...
Paper, Oil
Jockey, Back View
By LeRoy Neiman
Located in Lexington, KY
LeRoy Neiman was known for his brilliantly bright colored paintings and his expressionistic style. He is well known for being the official painter for 5 Olympic Games, as well as mul...
Oil
LeRoy Neiman Signed Original Watercolor on Etching Midnight Blue Ball
By LeRoy Neiman
Located in Minneapolis, MN
Artist: LeRoy Neiman Title: Midnight Blue Ball Medium: Watercolor and Etching on Paper Image Size: 27" x 32.5" Frame Size: 47.5" x 51.5" Inscription: Signed on bottom margin Year: 19...
Paper, Mixed Media
Nude, Playboy-era Oil Painting by LeRoy Neiman
By LeRoy Neiman
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: LeRoy Neiman, American (1921 - 2012) Title: Nude Year: 1960 Medium: Oil on Masonite, signed and dated l.r. Size: 8 x 11.5 inches Frame: 16 x 19.5 inches
Oil
Price Upon Request
Statue of Liberty
By LeRoy Neiman
Located in Missouri, MO
LeRoy Neiman (American, 1921-2012) Statue of Liberty, July 4, 1986 Signed and Dated Lower Left Acrylic Paint and Chalk 24 x 16 inches 37.5 x 29.25 inches with frame Mr. Neiman's ki...
Chalk, Acrylic
$1,480Sale Price|20% Off
H 20 in W 30 in D 0.25 in
"Just Married", 1930s Original Painted Figurative Illustration
Located in Soquel, CA
Figurative 1930's illustration of a just married couple in a classic car by Charles Kinghan (American, 1895-1984). Signed "Kinghan" in the lower left c...
Acrylic, Cardboard
Mid Century Nude Study
Located in Soquel, CA
Beautiful oil painting of nude study titled "The Red Table Cloth" by Bay Area, California artist Shirley Loyst (American, b-1928), circa 1960. Exhibition...
Canvas, Oil
$399Sale Price|20% Off
H 20 in W 16 in D 1 in
Mid Century Figure Study, Standing Woman with Plants
By Genevieve Rogers
Located in Soquel, CA
A beautiful mid century nude figure study of a red haired woman standing with plants by California artist Genevieve Rogers (American, 1904-1984). Unsigned, but acquired with a collec...
Oil, Laid Paper
$13,153
H 21.66 in Dm 15.75 in
Italian 18th Century Oval Religious Oil on Canvas Painting with Saint Dominic
By Francesco de Mura
Located in Firenze, IT
This beautiful Italian 18th Century old masters oil painting on oval canvas with giltwood frame is attributed to Solimena and features a religious scene. In this splendid oval-shaped painting are depicted Saint Dominic...
Canvas, Oil
$899
H 12.82 in W 10.75 in D 1.63 in
Mid-Century Portrait of a Young Girl
By Pascal Cucaro, 1915-2003
Located in Soquel, CA
A gentle mid-century portrait of a young girl by Pascal "Pablo" Cucaro (American, 1915-2004). Sealed in a layer of clear resin. Signed in a black textured medium, lower left: "cucaro...
Canvas, Resin, Carbon Pencil, Acrylic
Orientale
By Henri Fantin-Latour
Located in New York, NY
Signed, lower right: Fantin Provenance: Gustave Tempelaere (1840–1904), Paris; possibly by descent to his son: Julien Tempelaere (1876–1961) and with F. & J. Tempelaere, Paris, prob...
Canvas, Paper, Oil
$7,174
H 48.82 in W 34.65 in D 3.55 in
Paul Anton Kaulbach (1864 Hanover - 1930 Berlin) Male Nude
Located in Greding, DE
Depiction of a male nude in diffuse architectural scenery. Signed lower right (Paul) Anton Kaulbach (1864 Hannover - 1930 Berlin). Oil on canvas, in gold-patinated frame. Image size:...
Oil, Canvas
$1,080Sale Price|20% Off
H 20.25 in W 28.5 in D 0.25 in
"Adventures in Literature" Figurative 1930's Illustration art
Located in Soquel, CA
A wonderful original figure painting for a 1930's illustration by Charles Kinghan (American, 1895-1984). A woman in a plaid green skirt and mustard yel...
Acrylic, Cardboard
$2,153Sale Price|20% Off
H 16 in W 16 in D 2 in
New York Street Scene Urban Landscape Painting from British Artist Collection
By Angela Wakefield
Located in Preston, GB
New York City Street Scene - an Original Painting by British Urban Landscape Artist Angela Wakefield. At measures 12 x 12 inches Frame measures 16 x 16 inches The character of New...
Paint, Oil, Acrylic, Board
$4,000
H 18.75 in W 24.5 in D 1.5 in
American modernist mixed media painting by Charles Shepard Chapman
By Charles Shepard Chapman
Located in Colfax, CA
Exceptional American modernist painting by Charles Shepard Chapman. Charles Shepard Chapman, (1879-1962), was a supremely talented American artist. Born in New York, Chapman studied...
Mixed Media, Paper
$900
H 15 in W 24 in
Palm Springs City Hall - Original Blue Landscape California Desert Artwork
By Kathleen Keifer
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Kathleen Keifer's original artworks represent one of the most significant expressions of New California Realism. Keifer brings a fresh perspective to her colorful scenes of everyday ...
Canvas, Acrylic
$3,200Sale Price|20% Off
H 24 in W 19 in D 2 in
"Seated Nude" American Impressionist Portrait of a Woman Oil on Board Painting
By Louis Bouché
Located in New York, NY
This is a wonderful example of Louis Bouché's charming Nude portraits. The artist was truly a master of capturing the energy of the times, and character o...
Oil, Board
Sold
H 32 in W 27 in
3 Studies of a Jockey, Expressionist Oil Painting by LeRoy Neiman
By LeRoy Neiman
Located in Long Island City, NY
3 Studies of a Jockey LeRoy Neiman, American (1921–2012) Date: 1972 Oil on Canvas, signed, titled, and dated verso Size: 23.25 x 18 in. (59.06 x 45.72 cm) Frame Size: 32 x 27 inches
Oil
Roberto Duran, Expressionist Oil Painting by LeRoy Neiman
By LeRoy Neiman
Located in Long Island City, NY
Roberto Duran LeRoy Neiman, American (1921–2012) Date: 1981 Oil on Canvas, signed and dated Size: 24 x 36 in. (60.96 x 91.44 cm) Frame Size: 31 x 43 inches
Oil
Sold
H 34.75 in W 46.13 in D 1.5 in
Colorful Abstract Contemporary Texas Longhorn Football Game Lithograph
By LeRoy Neiman
Located in Houston, TX
Colorful lithograph by American artist LeRoy Neiman. Lithograph depicting a Texas Longhorns football game. Signed by artist at the bottom right. Framed a...
Lithograph
Greyhounds
By LeRoy Neiman
Located in New Orleans, LA
LeRoy Neiman is regarded as one of America's premier painters of sports and leisure, known for his energetic paintings of sporting events, celebrities and urban idylls. The present work is an exceptional example of his animal portraits, which he produced throughout his career. Neiman painted dogs in settings as diverse as racecourses, hunting grounds and Parisian boulevards, but regardless of the backdrop, he captures his subjects with a sensitivity to both anatomy and personality. Monumental in size, this charming portrait captures two greyhounds with a sense of still readiness that perfectly emulates the character of the beasts. Neiman's graceful, flowing lines mimic the inherent elegance of the breed; alert and watchful, they reflect the artist's homage to the greyhound. Born in Minnesota in 1921, LeRoy Neiman long considered himself an illustrator; his first job as a teenager was, in fact, illustrating signs for a local grocery store. After serving briefly in the military in Germany, he returned to the Midwest to study at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he eventually became a teacher of illustration. In the early 1950s, he would meet a man who changed the trajectory of his career - Hugh Hefner. Shortly after he published his first five issues of Playboy magazine, Hefner invited Neiman to contribute an illustration to the publication, beginning a relationship that would endure for more than half a century. His success with Playboy allowed him to branch out as an artist in his own right, and he soon became the de facto artist of the world's most famous sports stars and entertainers. His subjects included the likes of Mickey Mantle...
Oil, Board
The Bull Fighter
By LeRoy Neiman
Located in Palm Desert, CA
A painting by LeRoy Neiman. "The Bull Fighter" is an oil on panel painting executed in a deep and brilliant palette primarily of reds, yellow, aqua blues ...
Oil, Panel
Black Power (Jim Dent)
By LeRoy Neiman
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: LeRoy Neiman, American (1921 - 2012) Title: Black Power (Jim Dent) Year: 1975 Medium: Oil on Masonite, signed and dated l.l. Size: 48 x 36 in. ...
Oil