“Sport: Iooss & Leifer” will open to the public on November 14, 2009 and run through March 7, 2010.

Walter Iooss and Neil Leifer are two of the most legendary sports photographers. Their work has become part of the cultural lexicon, as well as inspiration for new generations of photographers as well as athletes aspiring to be captured so artistically.

Iooss is best known for his portraits of famous athletes like Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Brett Favre, Joe Montana and Wayne Gretzky. In his career, he has covered virtually every major sports event, including all 43 Super Bowls. Iooss has also photographed performers like the Rolling Stones, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin.

Leifer’s photos have regularly appeared in every major national magazine, including the Saturday Evening Post, Look, LIFE, Newsweek, People and, most often, Sports Illustrated. Most notably, Leifer photographed Muhammad Ali on 80 occasions, including the photo above of his knockout of Sonny Liston. Along with celebrating these two titans, this exhibit, at the new innovative Annenberg Space for Photography, is also a rare peek at the artistry of Sports Photography, as it is not usually shown in an exhibition space.

The Annenberg Space for Photography
2000 Avenue of the Stars, Century City, CA. 90067
Tel: 213.403.3000

Open Wednesday through Sunday: 11am-6pm. Admission FREE
Closed Monday and Tuesday.