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Jackie Robinson

Year – 2014

Size – 27″x37″

Medium – Black & white acrylic paint and colored pencil on gessoed board

SOLD

This monumental painting captures the 14th of Robinson’s modern-era record 19 steals of home—and the only successful attempt of 1950. Photographed for posterity by Acme Newspictures, the classic cap-blown scene was originally published with the caption, “Jackie Robinson, of the Brooklyn Dodgers, slides home on a steal in the fourth inning of the first game of a double header with the Phillies July 2. Catcher Andy Seminick waits for the throw as Gil Hodges, at bat, steps aside. It was Robinson’s first steal of home this season. Phillies took the first game 6-4, and were forced to accept a draw in the second, 8-8.”

Sweeping stadiumscapes are Port’s forté, and the photorealist master has outdone himself here. From the cavernous confines of Shibe Park, to the superhero slide of Number 42, to the supporting roles of batter and catcher, this epic creation showcases all of Adam’s wide-ranging talents and his exacting attention to detail. No cloud of dirt, no pebble, no pinstripe, no uniform fold is even remotely out of place. Robinson’s likeness is flawless, his forehead glistening in the sunlight, his face half cloaked in shadow. In rendering the steal at such magnitude and with such precision, Port transports us to the historic moment, forever frozen in time, that defines Jackie’s on-field legacy. As Count Basie famously sang: “Did you see Jackie Robinson hit that ball? / Did he hit it? / Yeah, and that ain’t all. / He stole home. / Yes, yes, Jackie’s real gone.”