Leroy Neiman Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
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.
Mid-20th Century Modern Leroy Neiman Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Permanent Marker, Mixed Media, Ink, Offset
2010s Modern Leroy Neiman Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Permanent Marker, Paper
2010s Modern Leroy Neiman Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Permanent Marker, Paper
1920s Modern Leroy Neiman Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Permanent Marker
1960s Modern Leroy Neiman Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Permanent Marker
1950s American Modern Leroy Neiman Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, India Ink, Watercolor, Pen
1950s American Modern Leroy Neiman Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
India Ink, Pen, Paper
2010s Modern Leroy Neiman Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pen, Paper, Ink
1950s American Modern Leroy Neiman Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
India Ink, Paper, Watercolor, Pen
Early 20th Century Modern Leroy Neiman Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Permanent Marker
2010s Modern Leroy Neiman Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Pen
Mid-20th Century Modern Leroy Neiman Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Permanent Marker
Mid-20th Century Modern Leroy Neiman Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Charcoal, Permanent Marker
1980s Impressionist Leroy Neiman Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Color Pencil, Paper
1980s Impressionist Leroy Neiman Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Mixed Media
1980s Leroy Neiman Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Mixed Media, Watercolor
Leroy Neiman portrait drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.
Artists 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.