Sport in Art
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Origins of sports 18th century painting Manet US painting < 1940 Rockwell George III Post war French art Paris Horse
Chronology : 1760-1769 1870-1879 1910 1952 1957 1978 1981
See also : Origins of sports 18th century painting Manet US painting < 1940 Rockwell George III Post war French art Paris Horse
Chronology : 1760-1769 1870-1879 1910 1952 1957 1978 1981
1765 Gimcrack by Stubbs
2011 SOLD for £ 22.4M by Christie's
Serving wealthy English aristocrats, George Stubbs specialized in the topic of race horses. On December 8, 2010, Sotheby's sold £ 10.1M a very elegant study of mares and foals in a meadow, painted in 1767.
A horse named Gimcrack was winning most of the races where he was engaged. His portrait was sold for £ 22.4M by Christie's on July 5, 2011.
Made around 1765, this broad composition, oil on canvas 102 x 196 cm, simple and effective, is divided into two parts. On the left, Gimcrack shows his beautiful profile, surrounded by a coach, a stable boy and a jockey.
A race is held on the horizon, on the right. A horse is far ahead of his three followers. He is also Gimcrack, of course. He is therefore shown twice on that image that had everything to flatter the sponsor of the work, Lord Bolingbroke, owner of the champion.
Stubbs is very accurate in anatomical detail, but still shows horses galloping with their four legs flying above the ground. This feature, which can be excused one century before the studies of Muybridge, applies here only in the background and provides this work with an undeniable poetic dimension.
A horse named Gimcrack was winning most of the races where he was engaged. His portrait was sold for £ 22.4M by Christie's on July 5, 2011.
Made around 1765, this broad composition, oil on canvas 102 x 196 cm, simple and effective, is divided into two parts. On the left, Gimcrack shows his beautiful profile, surrounded by a coach, a stable boy and a jockey.
A race is held on the horizon, on the right. A horse is far ahead of his three followers. He is also Gimcrack, of course. He is therefore shown twice on that image that had everything to flatter the sponsor of the work, Lord Bolingbroke, owner of the champion.
Stubbs is very accurate in anatomical detail, but still shows horses galloping with their four legs flying above the ground. This feature, which can be excused one century before the studies of Muybridge, applies here only in the background and provides this work with an undeniable poetic dimension.
#GeorgeStubbs was born #OTD in 1724. We sold Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath in 2011 for £22,441,250 #WorldAuctionRecord #artistbirthday pic.twitter.com/B7fCB2eivD
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) August 25, 2017
1872 Les Courses au Bois de Boulogne
2004 SOLD for $ 26.3M by Sotheby's
Edouard Manet and Edgar Degas have masterfully shaken up the classicism. Building on their predecessors, they find new ideas for staging and colors.
Manet easily entered into artist circles. He enjoys social life and does not wait for the recognition of the Salons. His themes are unlimited. Before him, Courbet went already complacently up to the scandal. Baudelaire and then Zola recognize the originality of his approach.
On May 5, 2004, Sotheby's sold for $ 26.3M Les Courses au Bois de Boulogne, oil on canvas 73 x 94 cm painted in 1872 by Manet, lot 13, from the collection of one of the most famous owners of racehorses, John Hay Whitney. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The artist skillfully mixed observation and imitation. It seems that the topography of the Longchamp racecourse was painted on the spot.
Manet had demonstrated a few years earlier in his first bullfighting scenes that a direct participation in the event was not essential, since he could rely on Goya. Here the horses in full gallop all fly with their four legs lifted, as in the Epsom Derby painted by Géricault in 1821, acquired by the Louvre in 1866. The imperturbable position of the jockeys in full race is not realistic : the sporting effort was obviously not appreciated by Manet.
Manet's painting is however very modern. The track and the lawn are aquamarine blue, highlighting the contrasts in a freedom of colors that anticipates expressionism for several decades. The distance of the subjects is marked by an increasing blur, as if it were a photograph focused on the action in progress in the foreground. This artifice provides the whole composition with an effect of depth, different from the solutions sought by his impressionist friends.
Manet easily entered into artist circles. He enjoys social life and does not wait for the recognition of the Salons. His themes are unlimited. Before him, Courbet went already complacently up to the scandal. Baudelaire and then Zola recognize the originality of his approach.
On May 5, 2004, Sotheby's sold for $ 26.3M Les Courses au Bois de Boulogne, oil on canvas 73 x 94 cm painted in 1872 by Manet, lot 13, from the collection of one of the most famous owners of racehorses, John Hay Whitney. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The artist skillfully mixed observation and imitation. It seems that the topography of the Longchamp racecourse was painted on the spot.
Manet had demonstrated a few years earlier in his first bullfighting scenes that a direct participation in the event was not essential, since he could rely on Goya. Here the horses in full gallop all fly with their four legs lifted, as in the Epsom Derby painted by Géricault in 1821, acquired by the Louvre in 1866. The imperturbable position of the jockeys in full race is not realistic : the sporting effort was obviously not appreciated by Manet.
Manet's painting is however very modern. The track and the lawn are aquamarine blue, highlighting the contrasts in a freedom of colors that anticipates expressionism for several decades. The distance of the subjects is marked by an increasing blur, as if it were a photograph focused on the action in progress in the foreground. This artifice provides the whole composition with an effect of depth, different from the solutions sought by his impressionist friends.
1910 Polo Crowd by Bellows
1999 SOLD for $ 27.5 M by Sotheby's
Crowds in New York are one of the favorite themes with which Georges Bellows shows enthusiasm, movement, play. In 1909 he adds sport. His boxing paintings show the action in progress, in a close-up snapshot that photography was only just beginning to be able to provide. The expressive style of the young artist marks his refusal of classicism.
Polo Crowd, oil on canvas 115 x 160 cm painted in 1910, confronts sport and its spectators. The game is on, including a prancing horse. The crowd, barely contained by light barriers, is made up of well-differentiated characters, as in real life. In a very dynamic contrast, peoples and horses appear bright against a very dark sky.
Bequeathed in 1998 by the Whitney estate to the Museum of Modern Art, Polo Crowd was sold by Sotheby's on December 1, 1999 for $ 27.5M from a lower estimate of $ 10M. It was purchased at that sale by Bill Gates who was to hang it in the lobby of his personal library. The image is shared by Artnet.
Polo Crowd, oil on canvas 115 x 160 cm painted in 1910, confronts sport and its spectators. The game is on, including a prancing horse. The crowd, barely contained by light barriers, is made up of well-differentiated characters, as in real life. In a very dynamic contrast, peoples and horses appear bright against a very dark sky.
Bequeathed in 1998 by the Whitney estate to the Museum of Modern Art, Polo Crowd was sold by Sotheby's on December 1, 1999 for $ 27.5M from a lower estimate of $ 10M. It was purchased at that sale by Bill Gates who was to hang it in the lobby of his personal library. The image is shared by Artnet.
1952 Parc des Princes by de Staël
2019 SOLD for € 20M by Christie's
Nicolas de Staël wanted to introduce a new modernism in pictorial art at a time when American artists were developing the abstract expressionism. He tries geometric structures painted in various shades of gray sprinkled with traces of his knife in the impasto. This period culminates with a monumental opus 204 x 405 cm named Composition 1950 which was sold for € 4.2M by Sotheby's on June 3, 2014.
He appreciates that a full abstraction cannot express an artist's relationship to the world. He begins to state that abstraction and figuration are not incompatible. One of his confidants is René Char, the poet who gave freedom to words.
Nicolas and his wife attend a football match at the Parc des Princes on March 26, 1952. This event was an example of modernism, being one of the first to be played in the night under the spotlights. Saturated colors are new to the sport. The atmosphere does not alter the vitality of the boys focused on their actions. The result, 1-0 for Sweden against France, probably did not interest Nicolas.
The hypersensitive artist felt a lasting empathy for both teams. Back in his workshop, he produced in a few weeks a series of 25 paintings, providing his interpretation of the variety of movements.
Almost all these Footballeurs paintings are in small sizes. An oil on canvas 200 x 350 cm is an exception. Titled Parc des Princes by the artist and differentiated from the others by its subtitle Les Grands Footballeurs, it has been kept by the family until being sold for € 20M by Christie's on October 17, 2019, lot 12.
This series on football changes forever the style of the artist, who has regained his sensitivity to the colors of landscapes, still lifes and flowers. A bouquet in a vase, oil on canvas 147 x 98 cm painted in the countryside during the summer of 1952, was sold for € 8.3M by Christie's on June 7, 2018.
He appreciates that a full abstraction cannot express an artist's relationship to the world. He begins to state that abstraction and figuration are not incompatible. One of his confidants is René Char, the poet who gave freedom to words.
Nicolas and his wife attend a football match at the Parc des Princes on March 26, 1952. This event was an example of modernism, being one of the first to be played in the night under the spotlights. Saturated colors are new to the sport. The atmosphere does not alter the vitality of the boys focused on their actions. The result, 1-0 for Sweden against France, probably did not interest Nicolas.
The hypersensitive artist felt a lasting empathy for both teams. Back in his workshop, he produced in a few weeks a series of 25 paintings, providing his interpretation of the variety of movements.
Almost all these Footballeurs paintings are in small sizes. An oil on canvas 200 x 350 cm is an exception. Titled Parc des Princes by the artist and differentiated from the others by its subtitle Les Grands Footballeurs, it has been kept by the family until being sold for € 20M by Christie's on October 17, 2019, lot 12.
This series on football changes forever the style of the artist, who has regained his sensitivity to the colors of landscapes, still lifes and flowers. A bouquet in a vase, oil on canvas 147 x 98 cm painted in the countryside during the summer of 1952, was sold for € 8.3M by Christie's on June 7, 2018.
1957 The Rookie by Rockwell
2014 SOLD for $ 22.6M by Christie's
In 1957, Norman Rockwell completely controls his art which is similar to no other. His compositions are increasingly complex. He captures a theme that greatly appeals to the readers of the Saturday Evening Post: the occupations of young people. Rockwell's nice irony moves the parents.
Each composition is a long development that lasts several months, forcing the artist to work in parallel on all projects still to be published. He assembles a large number of black and white photos made or collected by himself, up to 100 for a scene with many characters. The final art in color supplied to the editor is an oil on canvas.
The cover page of 2 March 1957 is entitled The Rookie (Red Sox locker room). Amidst the star players of the baseball team, a tall 17 year old boy prepares for his first game.
The original painting 104 x 99 cm was sold for $ 22.6M by Christie's on May 22, 2014, lot 30.
Each composition is a long development that lasts several months, forcing the artist to work in parallel on all projects still to be published. He assembles a large number of black and white photos made or collected by himself, up to 100 for a scene with many characters. The final art in color supplied to the editor is an oil on canvas.
The cover page of 2 March 1957 is entitled The Rookie (Red Sox locker room). Amidst the star players of the baseball team, a tall 17 year old boy prepares for his first game.
The original painting 104 x 99 cm was sold for $ 22.6M by Christie's on May 22, 2014, lot 30.
1978 Muhammad Ali by Warhol
2021 SOLD for $ 18M by Christie's
In Marilyn's time, film actors and actresses crystallized the admiration and jealousy of the general public. In 1977 the art collector Richard Weisman manages to convince Andy Warhol that times have changed. Viewers now enjoy the live broadcasts of sporting events, and the era of sports marketing has already begun.
Richard selects ten champions who dominate their sport. He will visit them with Andy and their team. Andy takes the photos with his Polaroid. Back in his 'Factory', he has the canvases painted in acrylic by his collaborators, himself adding expressive scratches in the still wet paint, and at the end of the process they do the silkscreen printing.
The Athletes series, completed in 1979, is made up of ten portraits of champions in a standardized 40 x 40 inches (102 x 102 cm) format. 8 series are realized. The images are multicolored, with variations from one series to another. This grouping of ten elements to constitute a series was also standardized by Andy for his editions of prints since 1967.
These encounters between two worlds that were ignoring each other bring some surprises. O.J. Simpson has a five-day beard, Jack Nicklaus is upset against Andy's incompetence in sports. The meeting with Muhammad Ali begins with an interminable preamble during which it seems impossible to stop the champion from speaking.
A set of ten paintings was sold by Christie's for $ 5.7M on May 11, 2011. Two other sets have later been sold from the deceased estate of Weisman, also by Christie's. One of them was separated in New York on November 13 and 14, 2019 and the other one in London on February 12, 2020.
Comparing these groups provides additional information : the first Weisman set included Vitas Gerulaitis, while the other two sets display the ice hockey player Rod Gilbert. Weisman certainly wanted such a substitution to avoid tennis, already illustrated by Chris Evert, to be represented twice.
Muhammad Ali was the only one to control that his portrait matched well the image of himself that he wanted to leave, just as fearless in his activism as in his sport. He is the only one of the eleven whose sport is not symbolized by an artifact : his bare fists are brandished towards the artist.
On November 13, 2019 a portrait of Muhammad Ali executed in 1977 was sold by Christie's for $ 10M, lot 5 B.
A complete set was sold for $ 5.7M by Christie's on May 11, 2011, lot 54. The ten elements of this specific set were painted in 1978 in synthetic polymer and silkscreen ink on canvas 102 x 102 cm each. The Muhammad Ali is now separated from the rest of the set. It was sold for $ 18M from a lower estimate of $ 4.5M by Christie's on November 11, 2021, lot 36C. The champion is featured in red with blue and yellow fists over a purple ground.
Behind the boxing champion, the greatest is Pelé, fetching $ 860K in 2019 and £ 580K in 2020.
Richard selects ten champions who dominate their sport. He will visit them with Andy and their team. Andy takes the photos with his Polaroid. Back in his 'Factory', he has the canvases painted in acrylic by his collaborators, himself adding expressive scratches in the still wet paint, and at the end of the process they do the silkscreen printing.
The Athletes series, completed in 1979, is made up of ten portraits of champions in a standardized 40 x 40 inches (102 x 102 cm) format. 8 series are realized. The images are multicolored, with variations from one series to another. This grouping of ten elements to constitute a series was also standardized by Andy for his editions of prints since 1967.
These encounters between two worlds that were ignoring each other bring some surprises. O.J. Simpson has a five-day beard, Jack Nicklaus is upset against Andy's incompetence in sports. The meeting with Muhammad Ali begins with an interminable preamble during which it seems impossible to stop the champion from speaking.
A set of ten paintings was sold by Christie's for $ 5.7M on May 11, 2011. Two other sets have later been sold from the deceased estate of Weisman, also by Christie's. One of them was separated in New York on November 13 and 14, 2019 and the other one in London on February 12, 2020.
Comparing these groups provides additional information : the first Weisman set included Vitas Gerulaitis, while the other two sets display the ice hockey player Rod Gilbert. Weisman certainly wanted such a substitution to avoid tennis, already illustrated by Chris Evert, to be represented twice.
Muhammad Ali was the only one to control that his portrait matched well the image of himself that he wanted to leave, just as fearless in his activism as in his sport. He is the only one of the eleven whose sport is not symbolized by an artifact : his bare fists are brandished towards the artist.
On November 13, 2019 a portrait of Muhammad Ali executed in 1977 was sold by Christie's for $ 10M, lot 5 B.
A complete set was sold for $ 5.7M by Christie's on May 11, 2011, lot 54. The ten elements of this specific set were painted in 1978 in synthetic polymer and silkscreen ink on canvas 102 x 102 cm each. The Muhammad Ali is now separated from the rest of the set. It was sold for $ 18M from a lower estimate of $ 4.5M by Christie's on November 11, 2021, lot 36C. The champion is featured in red with blue and yellow fists over a purple ground.
Behind the boxing champion, the greatest is Pelé, fetching $ 860K in 2019 and £ 580K in 2020.
1981 Jubilant Grassland by Huang Zhou
2013 SOLD for RMB 130M by Poly
Huang Zhou liked to express vitality and enthusiasm in his animal studies. Banished during the Cultural Revolution, he actively contributed to the artistic reconstruction and prepared works for diplomatic receptions.
A group of riders in an open field, including in the foreground a woman taming a prancing horse, 205 x 140 cm painted in 1972, was sold for RMB 60M by China Guardian on May 22, 2011, lot 1176.
In 1979, on an official visit to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, he was fascinated by traditional customs. In the meadow, at an altitude of 3000 m, the Kirghiz wrestle on horseback between two teams which are distinguished from each other by the color of the embroidery. This sport is also played by women.
The artist is sick. In 1981, with a delay of two years due to a general paralysis, he paints in ink and colors two works on the theme of Kirghiz wrestling, under the title Jubilant Grassland. One of them is hung in the guesthouse for foreign heads of state.
The other, 142 x 360 cm, was used in 1984 as a diplomatic gift for Armand Hammer. The artist had used vegetable pigments and mineral repaints are done to improve stability before the artwork is presented to the "red magnate" visiting Beijing.
Jubilant Grassland, arguably the artist's masterpiece, features two women's teams, for a total of 7 riders, 9 sheepdogs and 80 horses including a large unsaddled group in middle ground. This artwork was sold for RMB 130M by Poly in cooperation with the Huang Zhou Art Foundation on December 2, 2013, lot 1921. It is illustrated in the post sale report by ChinaDaily.
A group of riders in an open field, including in the foreground a woman taming a prancing horse, 205 x 140 cm painted in 1972, was sold for RMB 60M by China Guardian on May 22, 2011, lot 1176.
In 1979, on an official visit to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, he was fascinated by traditional customs. In the meadow, at an altitude of 3000 m, the Kirghiz wrestle on horseback between two teams which are distinguished from each other by the color of the embroidery. This sport is also played by women.
The artist is sick. In 1981, with a delay of two years due to a general paralysis, he paints in ink and colors two works on the theme of Kirghiz wrestling, under the title Jubilant Grassland. One of them is hung in the guesthouse for foreign heads of state.
The other, 142 x 360 cm, was used in 1984 as a diplomatic gift for Armand Hammer. The artist had used vegetable pigments and mineral repaints are done to improve stability before the artwork is presented to the "red magnate" visiting Beijing.
Jubilant Grassland, arguably the artist's masterpiece, features two women's teams, for a total of 7 riders, 9 sheepdogs and 80 horses including a large unsaddled group in middle ground. This artwork was sold for RMB 130M by Poly in cooperation with the Huang Zhou Art Foundation on December 2, 2013, lot 1921. It is illustrated in the post sale report by ChinaDaily.
BASQUIAT
1
1981
2012 SOLD for £ 13M by Christie's
Jean-Michel Basquiat is the first African American modernist to transcend the white establishment in the history of art. 1981 is a favorable time. Thirteen years after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, the society is changing. The Street art, derived from the punk movement, challenges the conventions.
In January 1981, he is known to a few insiders who want to observe how the growing insecurity in New York City inspires young artists and musicians. In December he is recognized as the most gifted and subtle of the street artists.
His belief has not changed in the mean time. He wants to glorify the African American hero, completely ignored in the museums. He shows the daydream and the real life : the powerful black warrior kings and the white cops.
Top level sport offers to the Black champions their revenge against racial inequality. By showing the triumph, Jean-Michel deliberately confuses the athlete and the warrior. He rightly considers boxing as the typical field where whites have lost the game. The champions of his youth were Joe Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott, Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali.
The Ring, an acrylic and oilstick 152 x 122 cm, shows the winner alone in the middle of his field of action including ropes and chairs. He does not lift the crown but a powerful spear surmounted by a radiant sun. The champion is not identified but he has the same luxuriant hair as the artist himself. The Ring was sold for $ 15M by Phillips on November 14, 2019, lot 26.
In his childhood Jean-Michel had often watched boxing matches on television and he does not disdain the action. World crown, 122 x 142 cm, was sold for $ 11.5M by Sotheby's on May 12, 2015, lot 27.
The stylized figures do not prevent the expression of strength and aggressiveness, quite the contrary. These fighting guys form the single theme of this image. The title of world champion is at stake. A crown with three points will be attributed to each of the competitors and none is taking advantage in this remarkable symbol of racial equality through sport.
An acrylic, oil stick and spray paint on canvas 200 x 183 cm was sold for $ 14.6M by Sotheby's on May 15, 2007, lot 15, and for £ 13M by Christie's on June 27, 2012, lot 31. Made in 1981 shortly before New York City discovered the art of Basquiat, it features in close-up a hybrid character, life size, altogether a mystic deity lifting the crown of thorns above his head and the powerful Black boxing champion raising both arms in the attitude of triumph.
In January 1981, he is known to a few insiders who want to observe how the growing insecurity in New York City inspires young artists and musicians. In December he is recognized as the most gifted and subtle of the street artists.
His belief has not changed in the mean time. He wants to glorify the African American hero, completely ignored in the museums. He shows the daydream and the real life : the powerful black warrior kings and the white cops.
Top level sport offers to the Black champions their revenge against racial inequality. By showing the triumph, Jean-Michel deliberately confuses the athlete and the warrior. He rightly considers boxing as the typical field where whites have lost the game. The champions of his youth were Joe Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott, Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali.
The Ring, an acrylic and oilstick 152 x 122 cm, shows the winner alone in the middle of his field of action including ropes and chairs. He does not lift the crown but a powerful spear surmounted by a radiant sun. The champion is not identified but he has the same luxuriant hair as the artist himself. The Ring was sold for $ 15M by Phillips on November 14, 2019, lot 26.
In his childhood Jean-Michel had often watched boxing matches on television and he does not disdain the action. World crown, 122 x 142 cm, was sold for $ 11.5M by Sotheby's on May 12, 2015, lot 27.
The stylized figures do not prevent the expression of strength and aggressiveness, quite the contrary. These fighting guys form the single theme of this image. The title of world champion is at stake. A crown with three points will be attributed to each of the competitors and none is taking advantage in this remarkable symbol of racial equality through sport.
An acrylic, oil stick and spray paint on canvas 200 x 183 cm was sold for $ 14.6M by Sotheby's on May 15, 2007, lot 15, and for £ 13M by Christie's on June 27, 2012, lot 31. Made in 1981 shortly before New York City discovered the art of Basquiat, it features in close-up a hybrid character, life size, altogether a mystic deity lifting the crown of thorns above his head and the powerful Black boxing champion raising both arms in the attitude of triumph.
2
1981 Untitled on paper
2025 SOLD for $ 16.4M by Sotheby's
An Untitled oilstick on paper 128 x 160 cm executed by Basquiat in 1981 is featuring a strong man in life size in a spectacular movement of throwing a ball with an outstretched arm. This champion may be Hank Aaron, the retired African-American who was Jean-Michel's preferred baseball player. Behind him a fan shaped figure may be a scoring board.
This powerful figure made of quick strokes of bursting blue, green, yellow, red and orange was sold for $ 16.4M from a lower estimate of $ 10M by Sotheby's on May 15, 2025, lot 115, after being treasured in a family since 1989. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
This powerful figure made of quick strokes of bursting blue, green, yellow, red and orange was sold for $ 16.4M from a lower estimate of $ 10M by Sotheby's on May 15, 2025, lot 115, after being treasured in a family since 1989. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
3
1982 Sugar Ray Robinson
2022 SOLD for $ 33M by Christie's
US boxers are the quintessential African-American heroes. In 1981 Jean-Michel Basquiat mingles them anonymously with his signature character of the winning warrior.
In 1982 he pays tribute to his two preferred champions. One of his works is titled Cassius Clay not referred here with his Muslim name. Self designated as The Greatest, Clay - Muhammed Ali was acknowledging Sugar Ray Robinson as the greatest puncher of all time. This opinion was shared by many observers including no less than Joe Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott and Sugar Ray Leonard.
This comparison is technical as Muhammad Ali made his career in the highly prestigious heavyweight class while Robinson had been welterweight and middleweight champion.
Sugar Ray Robinson, acrylic and oilstick on canvas 152 x 123 cm painted by Basquiat in 1982 in Annina Nosei's basement was sold for $ 33M by Christie's on November 17, 2022, lot 112. In a boxing attire with square shoulders, the red skinned strong man is aggressively waiting for a fight with hunching back and both gloved fists dangling.
Politically for Basquiat, Robinson is also beside his arch-hero Charlie Parker an example of acclaimed African-Americans at the time of segregation.
Also in 1982, Jean-Michel glorifies another black athlete. The crown with three points is now firmly on the head of a baseball player who is certainly Hank Aaron. This artwork titled Orange sports figure was sold for £ 4.1M by Sotheby's on February 15, 2012.
In 1982 he pays tribute to his two preferred champions. One of his works is titled Cassius Clay not referred here with his Muslim name. Self designated as The Greatest, Clay - Muhammed Ali was acknowledging Sugar Ray Robinson as the greatest puncher of all time. This opinion was shared by many observers including no less than Joe Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott and Sugar Ray Leonard.
This comparison is technical as Muhammad Ali made his career in the highly prestigious heavyweight class while Robinson had been welterweight and middleweight champion.
Sugar Ray Robinson, acrylic and oilstick on canvas 152 x 123 cm painted by Basquiat in 1982 in Annina Nosei's basement was sold for $ 33M by Christie's on November 17, 2022, lot 112. In a boxing attire with square shoulders, the red skinned strong man is aggressively waiting for a fight with hunching back and both gloved fists dangling.
Politically for Basquiat, Robinson is also beside his arch-hero Charlie Parker an example of acclaimed African-Americans at the time of segregation.
Also in 1982, Jean-Michel glorifies another black athlete. The crown with three points is now firmly on the head of a baseball player who is certainly Hank Aaron. This artwork titled Orange sports figure was sold for £ 4.1M by Sotheby's on February 15, 2012.
