The Sports Illustrated Collection of Neil Leifer Gridiron Photographs on Exhibit at Soho Contemporary Art for Super Bowl XLVIII
New York, New York (PRWEB) January 12, 2014 -- Sports Illustrated, photographer Neil Leifer and Soho Contemporary Art present a nostalgic look back at seminal images from Super Bowls early days captured by Neil Leifer to kick off Super Bowl XLVIII week on January 28th, 6:00pm-9:00pm. Join Neil Leifer as he discusses Super Bowls past and present at Soho Contemporary Art as we celebrate our first exclusive Neil Leifer photography exhibition including many of Neil's most famous football photographs.
Leifer, who has been one of the top sports photographers in the world since the early 1960’s has been front and center at many pivotal football games in his career. As a boy in New York City, Leifer would gain free admission to New York Giants games by pushing the wheelchairs of handicapped patrons into the stadium. Using his free ticket and a camera, he would then position himself on the field with the photographers. Leifer gained free admission to the 1958 NFL title game between the Giants and Baltimore Colts. This game became famous as the first overtime game in league history. Leifer, on his sixteenth birthday, caught several images of the game-winning touchdown, which he sold to Sports Illustrated. Their editors liked Leifer's work and he quickly became a boy wonder at the magazine. He had his first cover shot in 1962 at age 19. Following in the footsteps of the great Sports Illustrated and Life photographers who preceded him, Leifer created innovative images and went on to grace over 200 covers of Sports Illustrated and Time Magazine.
The collaboration between Neil Leifer and Soho Contemporary Art is a natural fit, joining Pop Art icons such as Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat with the Pop Culture heroes pro athletes have become. The esteemed 2,900 square foot gallery features Post War Contemporary Art and Pop Art and is located on the infamous Bowery near Manhattan's Lower East Side.
Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres will be served from 6:00 - 9:00 P.M.
Neil Leifer is available for interviews upon request.
About Neil Leifer:
NEIL LEIFER’s photography career has spanned over 50 years since becoming a professional while still in his teens. Beginning in 1960, his pictures regularly appeared in every major national magazine, including the Saturday Evening Post, Look, LIFE, Newsweek, Time and, most often, Sports Illustrated. Leifer eventually became a staff photographer for Sports Illustrated before leaving in 1978 to become a staffer for Time magazine. In 1988 he was made a contributing photographer at LIFE magazine and spent the next two years dividing his time between Time and LIFE. When Leifer left Time Inc. in 1990, his photographs had appeared on over 200 Sports Illustrated, Time, and People covers—at that point, the most ever published of one photographer’s work in Time Inc. history. Neil Leifer is the 2006 recipient of the prestigious Lucie Award for Achievement in Sports Photography. In 2008 he was honored for his outstanding contribution to Time Inc. journalism with The Britton Hadden Lifetime Achievement Award. In December 2013 it was announced that Neil Leifer has been elected along with boxing greats Oscar De La Hoya and Felix Trinidad to the Boxing Hall of Fame. We are particularly proud of the fact that he will be the first photographer elected to the Hall, and in fact, he will be the first photographer in any of the sports Halls of Fame. Leifer has traveled all over the world on sports assignments. He has photographed his favorite subject, Muhammad Ali, on almost 60 different occasions—covering his biggest fights and over 30 one-on-one studio sessions. While Neil Leifer is now a full-time filmmaker, producer and director; there is a very good chance that you’ll spot him, camera in hand, at any big championship fight. “Boxing” says Leifer “is the one sport I still love shooting.”
About Soho Contemporary Art:
Soho Contemporary Art is located in the heart of Manhattan's Lower East Side on the southeast corner of Bowery and Houston Street. Our 2,900 square foot gallery features the artwork of Alex Katz, Andy Warhol, Bambi, Burton Morris, Christopher Wool, Donald Sultan, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jim Dine, Keith Haring, Mel Ramos, Neil Leifer, Robert Longo, Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein, Rodney Alan Greenblatt, Takashi Murakami, Tom Wesselmann and many others. With over 30 years of experience we have provided the finest condition artwork at the best possible price points to collectors and galleries located around the world. Soho Contemporary Art is committed to maintaining the highest level of service to our clients. We cater to both the established, as well as the beginning collector, interested in investment quality contemporary art.
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Michael Barber, Soho Contemporary Art, http://www.sohocontemporaryart.com, +1 646-719-1316, [email protected]
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