In April 1968, Esquire put Muhammad Ali on its cover posed as Saint Sebastian, the martyr executed by arrows, with six shafts buried in his chest and thigh, hands behind his back, face turned skyward. Ali had been stripped of his title, banned from boxing, and was awaiting a Supreme Court appeal for refusing induction into the Vietnam War. During the shoot he named each arrow after a man he believed was out to destroy him: Johnson. Westmoreland. McNamara (Rolling Stone). The issue hit newsstands on April 4, 1968, the day Dr. King was killed (Bookforum).
This painting is my hand rendered oil interpretation of that moment: the greatest athlete alive, rendered not as a champion but as a man paying for his conviction. Every arrow, every wound, every fold of those white Everlast trunks was built up in oil on canvas. The warmth of his skin sits against that cold, empty backdrop, and the black masthead hangs heavy above him like a verdict. Painted slowly and deliberately, because the subject earned that patience.
It is a piece about the cost of belief. Ali survived the arrows. That’s the part people forget.
Details
Original oil painting on canvas
48” x 36”
Framed, ready to hang
Signed by the artist
Includes a signed Certificate of Authenticity
One of one, original work, not a print
In April 1968, Esquire put Muhammad Ali on its cover posed as Saint Sebastian, the martyr executed by arrows, with six shafts buried in his chest and thigh, hands behind his back, face turned skyward. Ali had been stripped of his title, banned from boxing, and was awaiting a Supreme Court appeal for refusing induction into the Vietnam War. During the shoot he named each arrow after a man he believed was out to destroy him: Johnson. Westmoreland. McNamara (Rolling Stone). The issue hit newsstands on April 4, 1968, the day Dr. King was killed (Bookforum).
This painting is my hand rendered oil interpretation of that moment: the greatest athlete alive, rendered not as a champion but as a man paying for his conviction. Every arrow, every wound, every fold of those white Everlast trunks was built up in oil on canvas. The warmth of his skin sits against that cold, empty backdrop, and the black masthead hangs heavy above him like a verdict. Painted slowly and deliberately, because the subject earned that patience.
It is a piece about the cost of belief. Ali survived the arrows. That’s the part people forget.
Details
Original oil painting on canvas
48” x 36”
Framed, ready to hang
Signed by the artist
Includes a signed Certificate of Authenticity
One of one, original work, not a print