Images(3)

Portrait of Art Rooney, Jr.

Object number2017.65.1

Artist Heather Rooney

Date2011

OriginUnited States of America

MediumGraphite; Colored pencil(?); Watercolor; Paperboard; Paper; Adhesive; Ink; Linen tape

Credit LineGift of Arthur Joseph Rooney, Jr.

DescriptionGraphite and colored pencil(?) drawing. Pencil and watercolor on white paperboard. Painting depicts bust portrait of older man; body is in profile facing proper right and head is in three-quarter view facing slightly proper right; gaze is at the viewer; eyes are painted blue. Man wears a striped collared shirt or jacket with black cowboy hat with small white dots; hat has painted polychrome Pittsburgh Steelers logo on the front. Black background with white margin. Artwork is predominantly black and white with only Steelers logo and eyes painted in color. Reverse is white with repeated gray text.DimensionsHeight x Width x Depth: 20.063 × 15.188 × 0.063 in. (51 × 38.6 × 0.2 cm)
SignedArtist signature in black in bottom right corner "Heather / Rooney / 2011".
InscriptionsHat has Pittsburgh Steelers logo on front with black "Steelers" on the left side of the logo and white "Steelers" below the logo.

Left margin has pencil numbers "1-43" and top margin has pencil numbers "1-31"; both sets of numbers have been partially erased, but at still legible.
MarksReverse has repeated gray text "Crescent" and upside down white maker label in the top right corner with black printed text "Crescent / 20.3 / Medium Weight... / 15" X 20" / Made in U.S.A. ... / [barcode] / 093924109041 / 08/22/11".
Historical NotesPortrait of Art Rooney, Jr. by his grandaughter Heather Rooney. More than 30 years ago, Art Rooney, Jr. and his wife Kay visited the Circle Art Gallery in San Diego, California. By the time they left, a new passion had been born. Unable to buy a seascape that had sold while they shopped, Rooney purchased a portrait instead. Painted by Merv Corning, the work featured Cincinnati Bengals’ wide receiver Isaac Curtis, a player Rooney admired. Over the next several years Rooney returned to the gallery while in San Diego on scouting trips or at Steelers’ games and bought more of Corning’s art. Eventually Corning called him, beginning a friendship and artistic partnership that lasted until the artist passed away in 2006. Rooney gradually transitioned from a buyer of art, to commissioning specific pieces. He began to collect what he knew and loved – paintings that depicted members of the great Steelers’ teams of the 1970s. Rooney had scouted many of these players and had come to know and respect them as athletes, but also as men. Over time Art Rooney’s collection has broadened to include pieces by two other artists and to represent his life, his work, and the special relationships he developed through football. Label TextDrawn by Rooney’s granddaughter, this image captures Art in his Steelers hat. The limited use of color highlights his steely blue eyes and the team’s logo. Though Rooney keeps company with older, established artists, this portrait remains his favorite rendering of self.

Collector Arthur Joseph Rooney Jr.

Related institution Pittsburgh Steelers

Subjects

On View

Not on view