'Slew' to Sell at Keeneland Cross Gate Auction

Seattle Slew, one of the most popular and successful racehorses of all time, left an impression on many people, including American expressionist painter LeRoy Neiman.

Neiman, who was known for his artistic renderings of athletes, musicians, and sporting events, painted the 1977 Triple Crown winner at his barn at Belmont Park, and he subsequently wrote about it in his book Horses. He also had Seattle Slew “sign” the painting with his hoof above his own signature.

On Nov. 21, aficionados of the horse or the man or both will have the chance to own a piece of art history when 'Seattle Slew' is offered as Lot 94 during the Sporting Art Auction at Keeneland. The fourth annual auction is a collaboration between Keeneland Association and Cross Gate Gallery of Lexington.

“It's a great piece, and it's had a lot of interest-maybe because of Slew, maybe because it's a Neiman,” said Cross Gate Gallery's Greg Ladd. “The whole story there is great. Neiman loved it, and he had a double-page spread in the book talking about it and how Slew signed it, too.

“Neiman is hot right now. He passed away a few years ago, and he has pretty much exploded in popularity since then. We have sold him really well the past three years, and expect this piece to sell really well, too.”

Neiman died in 2012, and the next year it was his 'Flat Racing,' a one-of-a-kind glazed ceramic tile mural, that topped the inaugural Sporting Art Auction when it sold for $291,000.

The overall success of the auction, which has sold between 80%-89% of its offerings every year of its existence, has encouraged Ladd to continue to bring this type of collection together on an annual basis.

“It's really the only one of its kind,” said Ladd. “We have our inventory right in front of our target market, and they like our product because we are offering quality. It's also fun to get the top painters working today in front of a great clientele. A gallery is all about someone's taste, and it allows us to showcase our taste.

“I think the most gratifying thing in these first few years is the support we've gotten from our old clients. Many of them have helped us come up with inventory. They've given us names of people to send catalogues to, and they've taken catalogues to send to people they think might be interested. I think our friends are what have really made it work.”

While Ladd still feels like a relative newcomer to the auction side of the business, he founded Cross Gate Gallery in 1974, and it has become one of the world's leading sources for sporting art. Although a bit of a broad term, sporting art is genre that encompasses activities found in country life, such as fox hunting, game shooting, fishing and horse racing.

Cross Gate Gallery specializes in equine-related art, making the partnership with Keeneland a natural fit.

“Keeneland does an unbelievable job in everything they do,” Ladd said of the cooperative effort. “Everyone there takes care of details. Their reputation is something that everyone would love to be associated with.”

This year, the collection is made up of 175 offerings that range from international sporting art to American paintings to sculptures. It features a mix of renowned masters as well as new artists starting to make names for themselves.

On the traditional side of things, one of the most talked about pieces is Lot 112, Sir William Orpen's 'Sergeant Murphy and Things.' The 29½” x 40″ oil on canvas painting depicts the winner of the 1923 Grand National, and it is the work featured on the cover of this year's catalogue.

“Orpen is a very important Irish artist,” said Ladd. “This painting is a unique 'genre scene' as opposed to his standard portraits.”

Ladd also points to works from contemporary artist Andre Pater, who has both equine and non-equine pieces on offer, as ones to keep an eye on during the auction.

“He is considered by most the top 'sporting painter' working today, and he has several pieces, but two of them are particularly interesting,” said Ladd. “Lot 134, which is titled 'When Bargaining Gets Tight,' is one of the first paintings he produced after coming to America. It is beautifully painted, classical and detailed like he'll never do again.

“Then there is Lot 131–'Red Arrow'–which is a new, exciting subject for Andre. He produced it after visiting the reenactment of the Battle of the Little Bighorn earlier this year.”

Two of Pater's other pieces are also drawing plenty of reaction from clients, and while they do not involve horses, they do depict an animal seen in many barns.

“We have gotten a lot of talk about the Pater hound paintings, Lots 169 and 171,” said Cross Gate Gallery's Bill Meng. “The second one is 'Young Hound,' and I have had more people tell me that it's their favorite than I think any other painting we have ever had in the four years of doing this. Everybody seems to love it. He is absolutely running away with the vote right now.”

It takes about nine months for the folks at Cross Gate Gallery to gather all of the artwork that will subsequently be auctioned off, and the moment the catalogue is complete is a big one for Ladd.

“When I get to about 170 good pieces, I can breathe a sigh of relief because I know we're going to have a good catalogue,” he said. “We're always gathering, but I would say February is when we really get on the road. The auction has always been in late November, so it takes you through December to get everything cleaned up. January is a nice time to slow down, but come February, it is back at it.”

For those interested in hard to find pieces, Ladd recommends this year's offerings by Edward Troye (Lots 19 and 20), Franklin Brooke Voss (Lot 58), and Henry Stull (Lots 15-18).

“They are all very rare, and they illustrate American racing history,” said Ladd.

Interestingly, Lot 19, 'Nina,' was once in the collection of Francis P. Garvan and was subsequently donated to Yale. In fact, his gifts served as the basis for Yale's American Art collection.

Then there is Lot 105, which features big names via both the artist and his subject, as it is Andy Warhol's 'Willie Shoemaker.' In 1977, Warhol began working on a series of portraits of athletes at the behest of Richard Wiseman, and Shoemaker is the first portrait in that series. The piece is a 40″ x 40″ silkscreen portrait of the Hall of Fame jockey.

“We've had a lot of people say this year's catalogue is our best one yet, and we think it is, too,” said Meng. “The main reason we keep doing this is we have gotten so much positive feedback from the community. There really is nothing like it going on around here or within the horse industry. We found we could fill a niche, and it's proven to be very popular. One thing we really like is when everybody is excited, and we've gotten a lot of that, so it makes us excited, too.”

For those who want to get a closer look at the artwork before the auction, the pieces went on exhibit in Keeneland's sales pavilion during the September yearling sale, and a digital catalog is also available at www.thesportingartauction.com.

“It's the best way for people to see the paintings,” Ladd said of the decision to hang the artwork on the walls at Keeneland ahead of the auction. “I guess something could get damaged, but we've been doing it this way for 40 years, in Lexington and Saratoga, and we never had a problem with damage. Also, we've never had anything disappear.”