Leroy Neiman

American, 1921 -2012. Artist LeRoy Neiman was known for his screenprints and paintings featuring expressionism. His bright-colored artworks feature subjects like musicians, athletes, and movie characters and showcased a blend of impressionist style brushwork and Pop Art sensibility. Neiman’s paintings featuring leisure activities and sporting events and were part of magazines like Playboy.

The artist was born on June 8, 1921, in Saint Paul, Minnesota. During World War II, the artist served in the U.S. Army as a cook, where his artistic skills were encouraged and applied towards painting multiple Red Cross show sets. After returning from the war in 1946, the painter attended the St. Paul School of Art and later studied at the School of The Art Institute of Chicago. After completing his graduation, LeRoy Neiman worked as a teaching faculty at the School of The Art Institute of Chicago for almost ten years. In the duration of his teaching tenure, Neiman also showed his art in exhibitions and won prizes. He started creating illustrations for Playboy magazine in 1954. In the early 1960s, Neiman began traveling the world and painted social scenes and leisure life observed during his travel. Sporting events are notable artworks by LeRoy Neiman for sale that often come up at auctions. They feature prominent athletic events like the Olympics, the World Series, Super Bowl, the Kentucky Derby, The Masters' golf tournament, PGA championship boxing, The Ryder Cup, grand slams like Wimbledon, and the World Equestrian Games.

 LeRoy Neiman’s artworks also depicted nightlife scenes, jazz, the world of casino gambling, and entertainment. The artist also participated in TV shows and attracted a large fanbase by painting portraits on live TV shows. The artist died at 91 in New York on June 20, 2012. Today, LeRoy Neiman’s art is on display at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., the Art Institute of Chicago, and others. Collectors can find artworks by LeRoy Neiman at auction online on leading auction platforms.