When Two Towering Creative Figures of 20th Century American Culture Collide Something Extraordinary Happens
Les Paul and LeRoy Neiman
New York, New York – January 6, 2026 – It was December 1st, 1997. The place was the basement of the Empire Hotel across from Lincoln Center at 63rd & Broadway in New York. It was alive with its usual Monday-night electricity as Les Paul, then in his eighties, still commanded the stage like a young artist chasing a riff for the very first time. The club was packed. As usual on Monday nights, guests came to sit at one of the candle-lit tables and enjoyed the sounds of Les Paul. Actor/Singer Paul Sorvino was the special guest that night. But one other guest that night was a bit different. Sitting at one of the tables sat celebrated artist LeRoy Neiman – armed with not a cocktail or camera, but rather a sketchpad.
Neiman, whose distinctive style which blended Pop Art with impressive brushwork was among some of the most sought after artists of the 20th century and whose art commands record-setting prices today. Neiman had painted prizefighters, jazz greats and a spectacle of celebrities but this night was different. Les Paul’s performance included humor, storytelling and all sorts of spontaneous innovation. Les’ guitar – his eternal collaborator, was center stage and his performance seemed to defy time. At eighty some years old Les mesmerized the audience with notes that danced and stories that entertained.
Neiman, quietly at his own table, was capturing Les’ colorful gestures and vibrating strings on paper. Unbeknownst to Les and his trio, it was a remarkable and historical moment taking place in the back of the room. It wasn’t photography and it wasn’t a recording – it was art. It was as if LeRoy Neiman could picture Les’ soundwaves on canvas and paper. Both men can be defined as to have lived their lives through reinvention. When that evening ended, Neiman’s art from the night seemed to be lost in time. It was a moment undocumented and presumably lost. Until twenty-five years later.
On January 26, 2022, the LeRoy Neiman Foundation unexpectedly contacted the Les Paul Foundation. The family had been painstakingly cataloging the works of the late artist’s archives and uncovered a small but interesting folio of artist sketches labeled simply “Les.” The drawings captured moments of Les’ performance with great accuracy. Les, leaning into the microphone, his smile, his movement. No one had ever known the sketches existed. They had been tucked away and simply forgotten under the mountain of Neiman’s art produced over his lifetime. Included with the sketches was a remarkable Les Paul guitar painted by the artist and was signed by both Neiman and Les Paul. Neiman passed in 2012. Les Paul passed in 2009.
The discovery of the sketches of Les Paul and the rare, painted guitar by such a renowned artist offered more than just new images of the musical pioneer. It can be considered a great example of two extraordinary, creative minds coming together in a new medium. Neiman always turned celebrity and performance into high art. He defined the look while capturing people like Muhammad Ali, Miles Davis, many more – and now Les Paul.
Les Paul made modern music possible through his inventions. The solid-body electric guitar, multi-track recording and the very idea of sound interpretation all bear his fingerprints. Though both of their crafts differed, both Neiman and Paul shared remarkable parallels. Both emerged from humble beginnings. Both had visions that blended art and technology. Both lived to see their names synonymous with innovation and the vitality of American culture. And both understood that their pursuits were to be shared.
The LeRoy Neiman Foundation decided to share the obscure sketches and donate them to the Les Paul Foundation where they have been professionally framed and exhibited in a place of honor. The sketches were also part of an exclusive exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.
The rare art will serve as a timeless meeting of both color and sound, captured in ink by one of the world’s most celebrated artist and represents the genius of the man known as Les Paul. It’s as if you can hear the joyful sounds of invention, the laughter, the applause again through the art that captured that infamous “Monday Night with Les Paul” in New York. This chance meeting of LeRoy Neiman and Les Paul produced a selection of very rare, never-to-be-reproduced art that chronicles two of the world’s most historical and respected individuals of our time.
For more on Les Paul visit les-paul.com
For hi-res images of the LeRoy Neiman sketches and guitar please email caroline@m2mpr.com
PRESS CONTACT
Caroline Galloway
440-591-3807
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Les Paul Foundation
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