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Leroy Neiman
Borzoi
$3,000.00
$2,250.00
Medium: Serigraph On Paper
Date: 1988
Edition: 375
Size: 24x28 inches
Additional Details: Hand signed and numbered. Artwork is in excellent condition. Certificate of Authenticity included.Image size: 24x28". Additional images available upon request.
Inspired by a visit to the Soviet Union(1988) to open his one-man show at Moscow's famed Tretiakov Gallery, LeRoy Neiman completed "Borzoi," a magnificent portrait of a noble Russian Wolfhound. The resulting serigraph abounds in contrasts. While the untrained eye may see a simple study of white on black, careful inspection reveals a subtle silkscreen image which required the application of no fewer than twenty-six colors.
Prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917, the borzoi was owned and bred exclusively by the landed gentry of the Czar's kingdom. Today it is popular with the wealthy and the working man alike. The breed, though raised to hunt and in some instances to kill wolves, has proved remarkably gentle. Neiman's sympathetic portrayal reveals a borzoi who is keenly alert, intelligent, with a sweet disposition and tractable manner. His borzoi is a born aristocrat representative of the breed- affectionate in moderation and companionable.
Even in repose "Borzoi" reflects strength and swiftness together with a regal, graceful bearing. The handsome borzoi depicted is a large, long-coated dog with small, folded ears set on high and tapering to a fine point. The skull is long, narrow and clean, surmounted by a Roman nose with its slightly curved bridge. The borzoi is a sight hound, trained to hunt by sight, not scent, and it is not surprising that its eyes show such warmth and understanding. Their rich black color and almond shape combine with "Borzoi's" slender elegance to lend an air of exotic beauty.
Art ID: G21262
LeRoy Neiman was an American artist who blended a Pop Art sensibility with impressionistic brushwork and vibrant color. “I do not depart from the colors borrowed from life,” he once said. “But I use color to emphasize the scent, the spirit, and the feeling of the thing I’ve experienced.” His prints and paintings of sporting events, leisure activities, and movie characters like Rocky were published in magazines such as Playboy. Born LeRoy Runquist on June 8, 1921 in St. Paul, MN, after serving in the US military, the painter enrolled briefly at the St. Paul School of Art and then at the Art Institute of Chicago. During his life, Neiman sometimes performed on television, captivating audiences by drawing or painting portraits live on air. The prolific and popular artist made a substantial donation to Columbia University School of the Arts in 1995, which helped to create its LeRoy Neiman Center for Print Studies. Neiman died on June 20, 2012 in New York, NY at the age of 91. Today, the artist’s works are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., and the Indianapolis Museum of Art, among others.
