LeRoy Neiman (American, 1921 – 2012) was an international celebrity artist well known for his depiction of professions, especially in sports and events. The most economical way to obtain his art has been through prints. However, there are various grades of them of which a savvy collector should be aware.
We will not say much about his paintings since they are the most elusive and least likely for someone to encounter. Six figures would be a starting point. The prints, however, are more accessible, so we will review their grades.
The first rung is the poster which might be issued by a museum. These would typically be photo offset lithographs which are relatively easy and inexpensive to produce and can be found for under 100 USD. They will often have large text indicating an occasion or event for which the print was made. These prints would not be signed by the artist.
The next class of print is a fine art offset lithograph which would render the image of the painting without the additional verbiage as found above. It may have the artist’s endorsement of edition size, title, and signature written in pencil. Or it may be signed only in the plate.
Next up the ladder would be lithographs which would be made from metal plates – or a substitute. They would have been produced in limited numbers with annotations by the artist, written in pencil, indicating the edition size, title and signature.
Finally, we reach serigraphs, which would also be produced in limited quantities, and have a penciled annotation from the artist as in the case of lithographs. These prints are more laborious to create, and will likely be the most expensive of the prints.
We must issue a caveat though. Many of Neiman's lithographs and serigraphs were unsold in his life time and thus never hand signed. So you will get the quality without the higher price.
If your dealer cannot properly identify the type of print, you must have that knowledge or find a dealer who can properly do so.
Even the prints, especially serigraphs, will normally have 4-5 figures price tags. Upon casual inspection, each of the prints may look the same, but close examination will reveal the truth. Know your prints to get what you pay for.