The LeRoy Neiman and Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation is pleased to announce that this spring and summer, the late LeRoy Neiman figures in two significant group exhibitions at major American institutions: Get in the Game: Sports, Art, Culture at Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), and Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
On view through August 23, 2026, Get in the Game: Sports, Art, Culture at PAMM explores the dynamic interplay between athletic performance, artistic expression, and cultural identity—an intersectional interrogation that is central to Neiman’s career and legacy. Included in this presentation are works on paper and sketches by Neiman from his time in Miami on the occasion of momentous tournaments and groundbreaking victories in the Magic City.
Neiman captured the Miami Dolphins between 1972–73 when they achieved the only perfect season in NFL history, culminating in their Super Bowl VII championship. Vibrantly-colored, expressive drawings show then-head coach of the Dolphins, Don Shula, dapperly fitted in his signature aqua suit, as well as the team’s ultimate victory over the Washington Redskins in the 1973 Super Bowl.
Concurrently, Neiman spent time with his dear friend, boxer Muhammad Ali, as he famously trained at the 5th Street Gym in Miami Beach. One piece of dynamic brushwork from 1971 depicts an energetic Ali as he forcefully trains with a speed bag while a group of onlookers crowds around the boxer.
Neiman’s storied history with the boxing greats continues at the Philadelphia Museum of Art with Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments, a group exhibition curated by Monument Lab’s Paul Farber exploring the creation, context, and communities that orbit around Philadelphia’s iconic Rocky statue, at the steps of the museum. Opening April 25, 2026, the exhibition features over 150 works by more than 50 artists.
Focusing on the careers of American boxers Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier III, Neiman’s works in the exhibition trace famed moments in the two boxers’ notorious rivalry and legendary trilogy of matches. Neiman-designed official fight posters from the 1971 “Fight of the Century” in Madison Square Garden and 1975 follow-up at the specially-renamed “Philippine Coliseum” for the “Thrilla in Manila” are accompanied by more intimate and tender snapshots of the fighters as they conduct weigh-ins, the pre-fight emotions clear on their faces, and receive in-the-ring pep talks from their teams.
Rising Up marks a full circle moment as Neiman had his own close connections with the Rocky franchise, joining the team on-set to sketch scenes and produce posters. In return, Neiman held minor roles as a ring announcer in Rocky III (1982), Rocky IV (1985), and Rocky Balboa (2006).
Get in the Game: Sports, Art, Culture will be on view at the Pérez Art Museum Miami from March 19 to August 23, 2026. Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments will be on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art from April 25 to August 2, 2026.
Image on the left courtesy of LeRoy Neiman & Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation titled Miami Dolphins - Washington Redskins Super Bowl (1973). Image on the right courtesy of the LeRoy Neiman and Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation titled LeRoy Neiman, Smokin Joe Frazier at weigh-in at the Philippine Coliseum (1975).
