Muhammad and LeRoy: A Friendship in Art

"I love Ali. He is an old friend of over 30 years. We first met at St. Nicholas Arena on 66th and Columbus in N.Y. All through his illustrious career that spanned the next 15 years I was there at his fights, at his training sessions, painting with him privately as well as at his numerous public spectacles. 

His importance to me goes back to a statement he made to the Sports Writers press during the time of the first Sonny Liston fight in Miami Beach in 1964. 

This powerful declaration was and is to me my position in my field as an artist. 

'I don't have to be what you want me to be. I'm free to be what I want.'

For me it is to the art writers: 

'I don't have to be the artist you want me to be. I'm free to paint how and what I want.'

- LeRoy Neiman

Letter belongs to the LeRoy Neiman and Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation, and is on digital loan for this exhibit.