Tommy Lasorda Is A Museum Piece
The Dodgers manager will have his portriat hung at the Smithsonian. The Big Blue Dodger in the sky is smiling.
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Museum man.
Tommy Lasorda belongs in a museum.
And now he will be in THE museum, or at least his portrait will. The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C., will have a life-sized (well, five foot tall) portrait of him, which will go on display Sept. 22. Not coincidentally, that’s the day that Lasorda turns 82.
The Smithsonian loves old things that the modern age seems to be moving beyond, so naturally it has a lot of baseball art. That includes portraits of former Dodgers Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, Jackie Robinson, the 1955 team photo and some other guys even Vin Scully has a hard time remembering.
Everett Raymond Kinstler, who is maybe America’s premier portrait artist, will do the painting. How big is this guy in the art world? He has his own signature set of brushes you can buy — it’s like the Air Jordan’s of paintbrushes. Art students are stealing them from each other on the street if they can’t afford them. If that doesn’t impress you, he has painted the portrait of every U.S. President from Nixon through Clinton.
Kinstler got his start drawing comic books in the 1950s and early 1960s, including 'Hawkman' and 'The Shadow' before he figured out that painting portraits of rich people could earn you a lot of money.
Now he has taken on the task of memorializing the Los Angeles icon that is Lasorda. The man who managed the Dodgers to eight division titles, four World Series and two titles. The man who came out of retirement to help USA baseball win Olympic Gold. The man who used to own a pasta restaurant in Marina Del Rey where all the stars ate. The man who may be best remembered for the legendary Dave Kingman rant.
On one hand, it would seem fitting if the portrait showed Lasorda napping on the bench during a game. But instead you will see him not only awake but with that optimistic fire in his eyes that always seemed to be there during pep talks.
Wonder what Kingman would have to say about Lasorda’s performance? And portrait?
