LeRoy Neiman with guests Tara Zabor & Sara Hume

This is a conversation ABOUT talent (rather than directly with the talent) covering the late, great LeRoy Neiman. That being said, my two guests are very talented and knowledgeable about LeRoy and they offer sharp details about his illustrious career and great insight into him as an artist. The occasion for our conversation is the exhibition of LeRoy’s work, titled “A Keen Observer of Style” which covers art he created between the 1950s and 2000s. It’s on display at the Kent State University Museum through the end of June 2026.LeRoy was an artist who loved to work with vibrant colors and much of his work is instantly recognizable by his signature bold and dynamic brushwork through which he truly created his own design language. Some would say he had a Pop Art sensibility because his style pulled from impressionism, expressionism and realism. The funny thing is, if Leroy was asked how he would peg his work, he liked say that it’s just “Neimanism.”Some listeners may be familiar with LeRoy’s colorful depictions of musicians, celebrities, social and street scenes and athletes. He also captured the world’s most famous sporting events throughout the 1960s, 70s and 80s, including the Super Bowl, Formula 1 races and the Kentucky Derby. He was even named the official artist of the Olympiad in 1972, and he held that role for five separate Olympic Games. This tremendously expanded his global visibility.  But before he moved into capturing these events in paintings and screen prints, he spent much of his time throughout the 1950s as a fashion illustrator. And this is mostly what’s featured in the special exhibition of his work. What’s noteworthy is that his experience with fashion illustration really informed his later approach to composition, portraiture and personality in his paintings.