Dick Perez (born 1940) is an American artist known for his baseball paintings for the

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United St ...

and the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

. He is also known for his paintings for various baseball card series. Perez's 2010 book ''The Immortals: An Art Collection of Baseball's Best'', offers a visual history of the 292 members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Overview

He is a native of

San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico San Lorenzo (, ; Spanish for "''Saint Lawrence"'') is a San Lorenzo barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico located in the eastern central region, north of Patillas, Puerto Rico, Patillas and Yabucoa, Pu ...

. He moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

at age six and to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

at age sixteen where he studied at the

Philadelphia College of Art Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the sixth-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 1,603,797 in the 2020 census. The city is the urb ...

and the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

.Kashatus, William C. (2010) "Introduction". In Perez, Dick (2010). ''The Immortals: An Art Collection of Baseball's Best.'' Dick Perez (self-published). . Perez's art was on exhibit at the

Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1805, it is the longest continuously operating art museum and art school in the United States. The academy's museum ...

in 2004. It was the only one-man show dedicated to sports art at that institution. There is now a permanent exhibit of the 33 paintings (the original 32 plus an additional one of

Pat Gillick Lawrence Patrick David Gillick (born August 22, 1937) is an American professional baseball executive. He previously served as the general manager of four MLB teams: the Toronto Blue Jays (1978–1994), Baltimore Orioles ( 1996– 1998), Seattle ...

, who was admitted to the Hall of Fame in 2011) in the Hall of Fame section at

Citizens Bank Park Citizens Bank Park is a baseball stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the city's South Philadelphia Sports Complex. Home to Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies, the stadium opened April 3, 2004. It is named after Citizens Financi ...

. He has been the official artist for the

since 1982 and was the official artist for the Major League Hall of Fame for twenty-five years. Starting in 1982, Perez painted a yearly set of cards for the "Diamond Kings" series for the

Donruss Donruss was a US-based trading cards manufacturing company founded in 1954 and acquired by the Panini Group in 2009. The company started in the 1950s, producing confectionery, evolved into Donruss and started producing trading cards. During the ...

Trading Card Co. The paintings were of baseball's premier players. The paintings were in partnership with Frank and Peggy Steele. (The Perez-Steele Galleries). Perez currently paints for

Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures trading cards and other collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of Baseball card, baseball and other sports and Non-sports tradi ...

baseball cards. Perez's most notable work with Topps are the "Turkey Red" series cards, which featured both active and retired notable players. His paintings use acrylics, oils, gouache and watercolors. His artistic influences include such greats as

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 15, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era, Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil ...

Anders Zorn Anders Leonard Zorn (18 February 1860 – 22 August 1920) was a Swedish artist who attained international success as a painter, sculptor, and etching artist. His portrait subjects include King Oscar II of Sweden and three President of the Un ...

Joaquín Sorolla Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida (27 February 1863 – 10 August 1923) was a Spanish painter. Sorolla excelled in the painting of portraits, landscapes, and monumental works of social and historical themes. His most typical works are characterized by ...

, and

Diego Velázquez Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (baptised 6 June 15996 August 1660) was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the Noble court, court of King Philip IV of Spain, Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He i ...

. His works include other sports and non-sports paintings. Perez painted a portrait of

Grover Cleveland Alexander Grover Cleveland Alexander (February 26, 1887 – November 4, 1950), nicknamed "Old Pete" and "Alexander the Great", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He played from 1911 through 1930 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, an ...

for President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

and a Japanese stickball scene for

Ichiro Suzuki , also known mononymously as , is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played for 28 seasons. He played the first nine years of his career with the Orix BlueWave of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and the next 12 years w ...

of the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

. He also painted Arky Vaughan for President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

. He was commissioned to paint Robert N. C. Nix, Jr., a former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice, for the

Pennsylvania Bar Association The Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in Pennsylvania, United States. The association offers membership benefits, including publications, practice support, networking, and continuing ...

. He won a national contest in 1976 for the National League official centennial logo and designed the cover for the 1982 World Series. For Perez, baseball has a rich history with multiple facets (offense, defense, running, catching and pitching) and multiple focal points (the stadiums, the uniforms, the equipment and the fans in the stands). He tries to incorporate all of these elements into his paintings.

Bibliography

References

Reviews

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Dick 20th-century American painters American male painters 21st-century American painters 21st-century American male artists People from San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico Living people Baseball cards Trading cards National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum personnel Philadelphia Phillies personnel 1940 births 20th-century American male artists American sports painters