Lot # 2818: Jesse Owens Original Color Study Painting by Graig Kreindler

Original oil on linen of legendary sprinter Jesse Owens by noted sports artist Graig Kreindler. Signed by the artist on the reverse. The painting captures Owens as a member of the United States Olympic team in 1936. This is a particularly unique subject for Kreindler, who is most notably associated with painting baseball players and scenes from the national pastime, as it represents — along with the Joe Louis offered elsewhere in this auction — one of his few non-baseball subjects. It is also part of his discontinued color study series, which offered smaller 5 x 7-inch paintings. His works seldom appear at auction, and recently, Kreindler has stopped accepting new commissions to focus on his existing waitlist, which exceeds 10 years! Kreindler is one of the most prominent baseball artists in the field and a former winner of both the Norman Rockwell Museum Award and the Society of Illustrators’ Illustration Academy Award. In addition to his works having been displayed in various galleries and exhibitions, he has also been featured in articles published by both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Mint condition.