Muhammad Ali vs. Jerry Quarry
Artist
LeRoy Neiman
United States, 1921 - 2012
Date1970
MediumOffset Lithograph
Dimensions22 x 14 in. (55.9 x 35.6 cm)
ClassificationsPoster
Credit LineGift of the LeRoy Neiman and Jane Byrne Neiman Foundation
Object numberPH.6452
DescriptionThis poster advertises the October 26, 1970 fight between Muhammad Ali and Jerry Quarry in Atlanta. It was the first fight in which Ali competed after his ban from the sport was lifted. He had been stripped of his heavyweight title and suspended from boxing for three years after refusing to be inducted into the U.S. Army in 1967. This was also the first of two historic matches between Ali and Quarry, both of which ended with Ali knocking out his competitor. Neiman painted Ali more than any other figure and considered him a personal friend. Some historians have noted that his regular appearance in the artist’s dramatic portraits helped elevate the boxer from athlete to celebrity in the United States. Early posters like this and the previous one are distinguished from Neiman’s later work by their similar limited color palette and basic illustrational style. On View
Not on view
