Opening Day Auction 2014
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/26/2014
The spring of 1996 wasn't kind to the former phenom Dwight Gooden. After getting dropped by the Mets and suffering the indignation of having his Times Square mural painted over, Doc signed as a free agent with the Yankees. It was his last chance and he and everyone in baseball knew it. After dropping a series of games it seemed that his chance at redemption was indeed over. Then on May 14th, Gooden took the mound at Yankee Stadium and made history. One by one Doc mowed down the Seattle Mariners until he had himself a no-hitter. It was a brilliant comeback and the sports world was electrified with the feat. As such, it isn't surprising that the greatest sports artist of all-time, LeRoy Neiman, would choose this day in Yankee history to commemorate in oils. In his truly unique style, the master captured Gooden's look of sheer determination he had that afternoon. In his face, constructed from Neiman's trademark slashes of bright color and bold strokes, we see the look of a man trying with every pitch to save his career. The bottom has been signed by the artist in white paint along side of which he has inscribed the occasion this painting commemorates: "Dwight Gooden Yankee Stadium May 14, 1996". The colorful piece is painted on a 23" x 30 1/2" canvas and has been attractively framed and matted to measure 30 1/2" x 37 1/2". LeRoy Neiman prints and serigraphs have been popular with sports fans and collectors since the 1970's , but this is a truly unique opportunity to obtain an actual one-of-a-kind and original painting by the king of all sports artists.