Muhammad Ali’s Artwork Is Hitting the Auction Block

Did you know The Greatest was also a great artist?

June 9, 2016 9:00 am

We all knew Muhammad Ali was an expert at covering a canvas with the bodies of felled opponents.

Turns out he knew how to paint one, as well.

Five signed works produced by the late great in 1979 are hitting the auction block at New York’s Ro Gallery on June 15th. The pieces — which Ali created the same year he became the first heavyweight champion to win the belt three times — are colorful, cartoon-like and feature names like “Sting Like a Bee,” “Under the Sun” and “Guiding Light.”

The collection is part of larger sale of celebrity art that also features works by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Charles Manson, Miles Davis, Joe Frazier, Yogi Berra and Henry Miller.  Gallery owner Robert Rogal acquired the Ali prints after being approached by the champ’s manager and recognized that the works embodied Ali’s “personality, his life, in visual form” at first sight.

“I knew the Muhammad Ali was a hit from the day I got it,” Rogal says. “He was not trained in drawing … he had a natural talent.”

The limited-edition prints were produced in runs of 500 each, and they’re estimated to fetch anywhere from $400 to $5,000 a piece. You can bid online right here.

Click and move. Click and move.

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