Sports Art II Andy Jurinko

I try to base my posts on items in my collection, even if they lead me far afield. This isn't about anything I own. A blurb in the digital edition of the current Sports Illustrated led me to discover Andy Jurinko who passed away early last year. 

I have some vague awareness of his work. I'm sure I'd seen some of it someplace but I don't recall where or how. But I sure didn't recognize the name. And look what I've been missing. These are some wonderful portraits and paintings that capture both players and moments from the 'Glory Days' of baseball. Lots of excellent renderings of classic ballparks as well. 

A coffee-table sized book of his portraits has been published recently. That's it at the top of the post. Check out some of his work. Many more in the gallery on andyjurinko.com.  Well worth checking out. And his obit in the NY Times has a lot of background on Jurinko. 

This one of Frank Robinson in action is among my favorites. 

He's really captured Stan Musial's persona in this one, don't you think?

Hank Greenberg...

And Wrigley Field where my lucky dog son Brooks is today with his girlfriend watching the Cubs and Astros.

He had a previous book, 'Heart of the Game', published that featured the American League and it's vintage parks, action and players. The Times obit linked above says his 'Glory Boys' volume was to be a National League version. That might have changed with his passing.