Weisman was just 15 years old when he started attending galleries on his own. His first purchase was by the Chilean artist Matta in 1961 at the Ferus Gallery. Weisman, then working for the City National Bank of Beverley Hills, then discovered the works of such artists as Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.  

In 1977, Weisman commissioned Warhol, who was by that point a close friend, to create the athletes series. Featured are Muhammad Ali, O.J. Simpson, Jack Nicklaus, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Pelé, Chris Evert, Tom Seaver, Dorothy Hamill, Willie Shoemaker and Rod Gilbert.

“Andy really had no idea who any of the athletes in the series were, I remember I had to set up the meetings between him and these famous sports figures myself — it was a very difficult process at times,” Weisman said.

Since the series was completed in 1979, Weisman has gone on to collect a number of other artists’ artwork and has encouraged his own children to carry on this family tradition. His art collection has contained the works of Rothko, Giacometti, Newman, de Kooning, Lichtenstein, Lewis, Leger, Picasso, Motherwell, Gorky, Rockwell, Scharf, and younger artists such as Roni Stretch, Andy Moses, Gillian Lefkowitz, Andrea LaHue and Penelope Stanley. Weisman

selects each of the locations the collection travels to himself and with great care.

“One of the greatest things about the athletes series is that it brought people that may really have only had an interest in sports into art galleries, helping to widen the audience and perhaps the scope of fine art and I’d like to think I had a little something to do with that,” Weisman said. 

Weisman will have copies of his book available at the signing for $40. Warhol’s athletes series will be on display through Aug. 17. The exhibit is free and open to the public. The Parkwood Gallery is located at 1838 Parkwood Ave.

Visit www.acgt.org for more information.