AP
Purchased at an estate sale in Lake Forest, IL
This is a vintage 20th century signed serigraph print by the artist Leroy Neiman entitled Sliding Home that was created in 1972. The baseball game sport theme depicts a mid action moment when a player tries to slide in to home before the catcher can tag him while the umpire diligently watches the play to make the call. It is purported that this is supposed to be an image of Jackie Robinson playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Johnny Bench as the #5 player in red cap. Aside from the limited edition of 300 multiples, this one is an AP, or Artist's Proof, which are usually given to the artist by the printer as proofs before printing the limited edition run. AP's do tend to have a perceived higher market value than the numbered editions. Price guides set the retail for this AP as $7000 (and $5000 for the 300 edition), however, price guides are generally not used by appraiser's for valuations nor accepted by the IRS. True Fair Market Value is established by actual recent past sales, which are generally transparent through auctions. Bear in mind that an ‘asking price’ is one that has not been sold yet and a true sale value is based on actual past documented sale records. The estimate is based on actual recent past recorded auction sales of comparables. Retail 'asking prices' can be higher and vary.
You are very welcome
Thank you very much for the wonderful background and assessment