Charles Conlon, the photographer who chronicled baseball’s development in the early 20th century, will have a showing of twenty of his major works at the Openhouse Gallery, 201 Mulberry Street in New York City, on Monday evening, September 19.
The invitation-only event will include five original works of art replicating the Conlon Collection by the celebrated photorealist artist Adam Port.
Port has been invited by the John Rogers Photo Archives, (www.RogersPhotoArchives.com), the evening’s presenter, and owner of the complete Sporting News photo archives, which includes the Conlon Collection. Rogers and Port will be present for the event, along with a number of sports and entertainment celebrities. Both the Conlon photos and the Port originals will be offered for sale, with a portion of the proceeds going to Ronald McDonald House of New York.
Conlon, who is to baseball what Mathew Brady was to Civil War photography, was a New York-based photographer who shot the game from 1904-1942, pioneering action photography while taking remarkable pictures of the game’s maturity into the national pastime. His best-known work, a determined Ty Cobb sliding into third, will be among the works displayed, and among the pieces captured by the artist. Working at Hilltop Park, the Polo Grounds, Yankee Stadium, Washington Park and Ebbets Field, Conlon was able to capture players from both leagues – four decades of stars and common players. His work is preserved in some 8400 glass negatives, and is currently featured in a book, The Big Show, written by Neal McCabe and Constance McCabe, and published by Sporting News in conjunction with the John Rogers Photo Archives.
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Panini has agreed to dismiss its lawsuit against Art of the Game, a southern California dealer of autographed sports memorabilia.Last spring, Panini went to court over some signed Kobe Bryant memorabilia Art of the Game was selling inside Staples Center. They claimed it couldn’t be real because of Panini’s exclusive contract with Bryant. Art of the Game filed a counterclaim, insisting the items were indeed signed by Bryant, contract or not.
Last week, the two parties settled out of court but what that settlement entails hasn’t been revealed.
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Early baseball photos reported stolen from the New York Public Library years ago have been popping up here and there for several years. Now, a 19th century cabinet photo of baseball pioneer Al Reach has apparently made its way to eBay. This photo has been missing from the library archives for at least 25 years and has made the rounds ever since according to this report.
