Muhammad Ali's rare original artworks up for auction

Original artworks by Muhammad Ali went up for auction yesterday (5 October) at Bonhams New York in the “TCM Presents…It’s a Knockout!” sale.

The auctioned collection comprised 24 artworks, mostly in the form of paintings and sketches, and some of them are signed by the legendary boxer. Many of them have cartoon styles, reflecting Ali's interest in religion and social justice. In some of the artworks, Ali featured himself in the ring. 

The pieces came from the collection of Rodney Hilton Brown, an artist as well as Ali’s close friend who worked with him on his art. 

According to the auctioneers, one of the paintings, titled “Sting Like a Bee”, was made back in 1978 during the filming of historical mini series "Freedom Road" in which Ali starred. It is expected to fetch $40,000-$60,000 at the auction. 

“A lot of people are excited because no one knew he was an artist and no one knew about this treasure trove of artwork. So we're seeing a lot of interest and a lot of excitement,” said Director of Popular Culture at Bonhams Helen Hall. Ali's passion for drawing was unknown to most people, but he liked to sketch as a way of unwinding after a fight or training.

“There's one that references the race riots in L.A. and Newark in '65 and '67," said Hall. “One of the paintings is devoted to Islam. He had just recently converted. And then some of them have a lighter tone and relate to boxing.”

Other works include “America: The Big Jail” from 1967 and “War in America” which has a pre-sale estimate of $25,000-$35,000. 

One of his notable works titled “The Starving Children of Mississippi” from 1967 which shows a figure in shorts saying “I only wanted to fight to help feed you poor Black kids” was also up for the auction.