Bob Peak , Football Team Sports Action Painting de Kooning - Abstract Expressionism Illustration, 1963

Football plays cloaked in oversized Browns jackets are seen from behind running off the field. Always the graphic innovator, legendary illustrator Bob Peak creates a radical composition by leaving the bottom two-thirds of the picture plane empty of detail. To convey a sense of motion, Peak uses broad strokes of paint similar to the action painters Franz Kline and Willem de Kooning, who were the dominant force in the fine art world in the 1960s. Clearly, one can see a cross-over influence from Fine Art to commercial illustration as Peak strikes a balance between abstract versus figurative art.
This work was done on an assignment for Sports Illustrated 1963. Unsigned. - Reproduced in the seminal book on illustration by Walt Read, The Illustrator in America. page 256.
Acrylic and charcoal on panel
19.5 - 29.5 inches
US$15,000 Plus Shipping