Muhammad and LeRoy: A Friendship in Art

"This sketch is the one made in Atlanta in the house just outside town. Muhammad Ali staged a drawing championship between his father and myself in the kitchen. Ali sat between his father and myself, refereeing. After about 10 minutes he said 'STOP!' 'No contest' 'LeRoy is the Artist Champion of the World.'

We both did landscapes - Mine was out the window of the backyard. Cassius, Sr. did one from his imagination. I liked it and tried to shake his hand but he stomped out of the room." -Written on the back of the drawing in pencil and signed by LeRoy Neiman, 1970

The image shows the imagined layered colors of sunrise or sunset, when the sky and the shadows hold more than light and dark, primary colors. The trees appear in reds and browns, shadows contain purples, yellows, greens, and oranges. A large orange sun peaks out from behind layered hills and a serene body of water.

Donated to the Muhammad Ali Center in 2017 by the LeRoy Neiman and Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation.