Joe Louis

Art Kane, artist

1925–1995

Joe Louis, circa 1962

Portfolio/Series title: "Joe Louis: The King as a Middle-Aged Man," published in Esquire

Where object was made: United States

Material/technique: chromogenic color print

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 34.3 x 22.9 cm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 13 1/2 x 9 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 20 x 16 in

Credit line: Gift of Esquire, Inc.

Accession number: 1980.0489.01

Not on display

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Politics, Race, Celebrity: Photographs from the Esquire Collection

Joe Louis was the undefeated heavyweight boxing champion from 1937–1949. In 1938, Louis became a national hero when he defeated Max Schmelling, a German boxer promoted by the Nazi Party. Louis was perhaps the first African-American athlete to be widely admired in the United States. The “Brown Bomber,” as he was known, was generally recognized as “the greatest” in heavyweight boxing history until Muhammad Ali claimed the title.
Years after he was the boxing heavyweight champion, Louis was profiled in Esquire by frequent contributing author Gay Talese. The article explores Louis’s warm relationship with his wives, both past and current, his financial difficulties, and his enduring, affable personality even though Art Kane’s photograph of Louis focuses on the champ’s right hand. As a boxer, Louis’s right hand was feared and respected, the hand that delivered knockout blows to his opponents.