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
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
$1,295Sale Price|30% Off
H 20 in W 30 in D 0.25 in
"Just Married", 1930s Original Painted Figurative Illustration
By Charles Kinghan
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
$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
$2,144Sale 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
$1,012Sale Price|25% Off
H 20.25 in W 28.5 in D 0.25 in
"Adventures in Literature" Figurative 1930's Illustration art
By Charles Kinghan
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
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
$3,250
H 48 in W 42 in D 1 in
It Takes Two to Tango 1 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Couple, Love
By Samson Olatubosun
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube. This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Signed on the front side About Artist Samson Olatubosun is a visual artist...
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic
$2,850
H 42 in W 36 in D 1 in
It Takes Two to Tango 2 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Couple, Love
By Samson Olatubosun
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube. This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. About Artist Samson Olatubos...
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic
$2,750
H 16.75 in W 13.5 in
'Fashion Able II', Parsons School of Design, Haute Couture, Costume
By Isaac Mizrahi
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed verso lower left, 'Isaac Mizrahi'. A fashion designer and creator of costume, Isaac Mizrahi attended the Parsons School of Design before becoming immersed in haute couture in...
Oil Pastel, Acrylic, Synthetic Paper, Graphite
$1,294
H 18.9 in W 14.18 in D 0.2 in
French School Post Synthetic 95 Evanescence Chut les Barbizons! Signed
Located in Zofingen, AG
Portrait PS 95 Evanescence Technique: oil, acrylics and ink on thick paper (430g) 48x36cm ■■ 18.9x14.2 in ⏩》-------------------SHIPPING -----FLAT----------------《⏪ 🟢 → Original ...
Paper, Oil, Acrylic
$1,480Sale Price|20% Off
H 36 in W 26 in D 1 in
Till It All Withers 3 -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Mixed Media, Men
By Samson Olatubosun
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube. This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. About Artist Samson Olatubos...
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic, Photographic Paper
$1,294
H 18.9 in W 14.18 in D 0.2 in
French School Post Synthetic 102 Esc Soulas Chut les Barbizons!
Located in Zofingen, AG
Portrait PS 102 Esc Soulas Technique: oil, acrylics and ink on thick paper (430g) 48x36cm ■■ 18.9x14.2 in ⏩》-------------------SHIPPING -----FLAT----------------《⏪ 🟢 → Original s...
Paper, Oil, Acrylic
$529
H 16.54 in W 11.7 in D 0.04 in
"Courageous beauty" Contemporary figurative woman's portrait painting on paper
By Mougenot Natalya
Located in VÉNISSIEUX, FR
"Courageous Beauty" is a contemporary female portrait by French artist Natalya Mougenot, painted in acrylic on heavyweight professional acid-free paper, measuring 29.7 x 42 cm (11.69...
Paper, Acrylic
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
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