Opening Day Auction Closing May 9th
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/10/2015
This most iconic image of DiMaggio's 56-game streak (indeed, of the Yankee Clipper's entire career!) hails from the laced single that surpassed George Sisler's then-A.L.-record 41 straight games—a.k.a. "The Swing." And perhaps just as much as Joe D's picture-perfect follow-through, it's the up-close-and-personal photographers who have always mesmerized viewers as a symbol of the halcyon innocence of baseball's Golden Age.
Here, by elevating the perspective to a bird's-eye angle and positioning the trio as snug as shutterbugs in a rug, Dick Perez asks us to allow these anonymous cameramen—and Senators backstop Jake Early—to share DiMaggio's spotlight as never before. Then Perez goes a step further by introducing another central character that went unnoticed in the original black-and-white photograph: the field itself. With thickly daubed brush strokes and an Impressionistic, Monet-like flair, Dick breathes new life into the shadow-laden, blue-and-gold-flecked turf and the rich, fertile soil. If you love baseball, if you love DiMaggio, if you love Perez, then this brand-new masterpiece may be the one you've been waiting for.
Bio: Dick Perez is the preeminent living baseball artist—and arguably the greatest the sport has ever known. For 45 years, Perez has paid homage to the game’s pantheon through monumental projects such as his Perez-Steele Art Cards, Donruss Diamond Kings, Immortals luxury book, and Charles Conlon Collection. Throughout that time, he has also held the distinguished position of Official Artist for the Philadelphia Phillies, Baseball Hall of Fame, Donruss and Topps. Perez’s Impressionist-style portraits are housed in the prestigious collections of museums, major-league franchises, corporations, and private art collectors including Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan.