Ali/Foreman/Zaïre
Artist
LeRoy Neiman
United States, 1921 - 2012
Date1974
MediumOffset Lithograph
Dimensions37 x 23 in. (94 x 58.4 cm)
ClassificationsPoster
Credit LineGift of the LeRoy Neiman and Jane Byrne Neiman Foundation
Object numberPH.6442
DescriptionFounded in 1974, Don King Productions started with a charity fight its founder had arranged with Muhammad Ali a few years earlier. The success of that event led to King promoting imaginatively titled matches around the world, the first major one being “The Rumble in the Jungle” between Ali and undefeated champion George Foreman in Zaïre (now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo) on October 30, 1974. To promote the fight, King displayed LeRoy Neiman’s painting for the poster in Zaïre’s presidential palace in the week leading up to the event. The image was also printed on ticket stubs and other ephemera, making Neiman’s work an indelible part of the fight’s brand. This poster shows Neiman’s signature approach to portraiture, in which he used wild splashes of color to create rainbow-hued figures in action. A version of the Fat Albert typeface was added by Edvins Strautmanis, beautifully extending Neiman’s canvas into the body of the text. Ali knocked out Foreman in the eighth round, reclaiming his heavyweight title. While still viewed by many in the United States as a traitor because of his position on the Vietnam War, the people of Zaïre regarded Ali as a man who shared their struggles against white oppression (the country was subject to Belgian colonial rule between 1885 and 1960). His victory helped establish the country’s postcolonial identity on the world stage. On View
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