Volvo Masters 1983

LeRoy Neiman made this vibrant painting of the Volvo Masters with what looks like quick, confident strokes, capturing the energy of a tennis match. I love to imagine him there, courtside, rapidly laying down these dashes of bright color to capture the blur of the game. Look at how he renders the crowd – a flurry of pinks, blues, and yellows – each dab of paint suggesting a face in the sea of spectators. I get the sense that for Neiman, it's not about precise representation but about conveying the feeling of being there. The green of the court is so flat and artificial that it feels like a stage, heightening the drama of the game. That upward thrust of the player’s arm, frozen mid-serve, is so full of dynamism, you can almost hear the smack of the ball. Neiman was really onto something; he reminds me of other artists like Soutine who used brushwork to capture something fleeting and immediate. There’s a real generosity in his mark-making that pulls you in, almost as if you were watching a live game.