Sports Photography Comes to Life as SPORT Magazine Returns with Limited Edition Fine Art Prints

Toronto, ON (PRWeb) November 29, 2006 -- Sports Photography was the hallmark of SPORT Magazine. Now, six years after SPORT magazine ceased publication, the classic images that established SPORT as a cultural icon in post-war America are available. The SPORT Gallery has launched an initial series of fine art prints from The SPORT Collection comprising 30 limited edition giclee images drawn from nine different sports.

Fondly recognized today as pure Americana, SPORT magazine launched in 1946 (eight years before Sports Illustrated) and was an instant hit. It rose to well over a million in circulation by featuring the work of the greatest writers and photographers of the era. SPORT's ground-breaking use of color photography captivated a generation of young sports fans who often wallpapered their bedrooms with full-page photos that were the magazine's signature item.

When SPORT magazine folded in the summer of 2000, Allen Barra of the Wall Street Journal called it the greatest of all American sports magazines. Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe described SPORT as "an irreplaceable part of the American sports experience."

Sports photography was a developing craft when SPORT was born. The magazine quickly pioneered a brand of behind-the-scenes reporting that combined literary excellence with vivid, color photography by the top craftsmen of that era. Those one-of-a-kind images, many of which lay hidden for decades, have now been reprised.

Typical of the limited-edition prints is a color portrait of Jackie Robinson relaxing by the batting cage among the heart of the Brooklyn Dodgers championship team of 1955, a photograph that graced the cover of Roger Kahn's classic bestseller "The Boys of Summer." Other examples are matchless images of New York manager Bucky Harris addressing his 1947 club in the Yankee clubhouse; football legend George Halas on the sidelines with stars from the1948 Chicago Bears; the game-day players' bench of the 1949 Fighting Irish of Notre Dame; Rocky Marciano shadow boxing in 1954; and Montreal Canadiens star Maurice 'Rocket' Richard, circa 1955, in full flight.

Selected for their artistic qualities and their historical significance, the images are unlike any available in the sports memorabilia and wider photographic markets today.

"In recent years, sport has become a worthy subject for serious aficionados and collectors of fine art photography," said Wayne Parrish of The SPORT Gallery. "Increasingly, serious collectors are recognizing that high-end, vintage sports photography is more than another type of memorabilia. It is an art form unto itself."

The SPORT magazine archive consists of almost a quarter million images--color transparencies, black and white negatives, vintage photographic prints and news photographs--covering the world of sports from the 1920s to the 1990s, with the best work concentrated in the '40s, '50s, '60s and '70s. Due to the particular focus on superstars, the archive includes significant files on many Hall of Famers and future Hall of Famers across all the major sports. To name just a few: Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson, and Sandy Koufax in baseball; Johnny Unitas, Jim Brown and Joe Namath in football; Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in basketball; Bobby Orr, Bobby Hull and Gordie Howe in hockey; Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson, and Rocky Marciano in boxing; Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Sam Snead in golf.

In an appraisal conducted by the leading North American fine art photography appraisal house, the SPORT magazine archive is described as "among the most significant resources for 20th century photographic images of American sports figures in the world."

The production of all limited-edition pieces is to the strictest archival standards, resulting in giclee fine art prints that are of museum-quality. Each is printed on 100% Hahnemuhle cotton rag paper using UltraChrome K3 pigmented inks. Additionally, each print is hand titled and numbered, carries The SPORT Collection emboss, and is accompanied by a signed Certificate of Authenticity.

For additional information on The SPORT Gallery and to view the complete lineup of limited edition prints, visit www.thesportgallery.com

About The SPORT Gallery
The Sport Gallery is the exclusive representative for The SPORT Collection and the SPORT magazine Photographic Archives. The Gallery has access to thousands of pieces of exceptional sports photography, the majority of which are unique, a large number of which were originally published in SPORT magazine, and many of which have never been seen by the general public.

Contact:
Wayne Parrish
416-861-8514 (ext. 236)
www.thesportgallery.com

Or

Jim O'Leary
416-861-8514 (ext. 227)
www.thesportgallery.com

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