Skip to main content
Lot 36

Muhammad Ali (1942-2016)

5 October 2021, 13:00 EDT
New York

Sold for US$425,312.50 inc. premium

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

How to sell

Looking for a similar item?

Our Popular Culture specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.

Find your local specialist

Ask about this lot

Muhammad Ali (1942-2016)

Sting Like A Bee, 1978
Felt pen and acrylic paint on paper
Unsigned
Framed

This original painting was done by Muhammad Ali during the filming of Freedom Road in Natchez, Mississippi, 1978. It was done in preparation for the later screenprint of the same name. Rodney Hilton Brown would fly down to Natchez to work on these sketches and paintings whilst Ali was filming. The painting shows a victorious Ali standing over his opponent in the ring with his opponent saying "Ref, he did float like a butterfly and sting like a bee!" whilst the referee is fleeing the ring saying "Yes, if you were smart, you run like me". The phrase "Float like a Butterfly, Sting like a Bee" was first uttered by Ali in 1964 before his first fight with Sonny Liston. Still going by his birth name of Cassius Clay Jr., Ali was considered the underdog; Liston had reigned supreme as the World Heavyweight Champion for two years and Ali taunted Liston in the weeks before the fight and before he entered the ring he pronounced "Float like a Butterfly. Sting like a bee. The hands can't hit what the eyes can't see." Ali won the fight by technical knockout. With his rhyming delivery and freestyle skills, Ali was a massive influence on hip hop music, with many hip hop musicians citing Ali as their greatest influence.
The work is part of a series of preparatory works and duplicate artworks done for a set of four fine art, signed, limited edition silkscreen prints. This work was released in a limited edition of 500 in 1979. This work is the only artwork to include a complete Muhammad Ali poem.

Provenance: From the Collection of Rodney Hilton Brown, formerly President of Hilton Fine Arts, Ltd., publisher of Muhammad Ali's limited edition silkscreen prints, 1978.
Exhibited: Muhammad Ali: World Premier Art Exhibition, Roseland Grand Ballroom, New York, January, 1979.
Literature: BROWN, Rodney Hilton, Muhammad Ali: The Untold Story: Painter, Poet & Prophet, Fairhaven, MA: The War Museum Press, 2021, p. 65 (illus.)
Frame: 17 x 20 1/2 in.

Additional information

News and stories

Bid now on these items

Collection of 8 Walt Disney concept drawings for the movie "Bambi" Walt Disney, 1942 8

A Pair of Western Costume Company Replica Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz (1939). Western Costume Company, 1989

1915 Boston Red Sox Team Photo Postcard - Babe Ruth's Rookie Season! PSA 3

Gary Burden's Personal & Working Sketchbook 2 and Sketchbook 3 featuring designs for Mama Cass, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Steppenwolf, Three Dog Night, Donovan, The Turtles, Dove Records, Miami Pop Festival, and Richard Pryor, Gary Burden (American, 1933-2018), circa 1968-1969, 2

The Mamas & the Papas/Mama Cass: A group of album proof sheets, transparencies and prints, circa 1968, Qty

Bernie Krause (b. 1938) Day & Night in Gombe, 2025

Steppenwolf: A presentation award for the album Steppenwolf and a group of album cover proofs from The Second, circa 1968, 4

Victor Mosoco (Spanish, born 1936): A group of rare Neon Rose posters, 1967 & 1968, 4

Gary Burden's Personal & Working Sketchbook 4 featuring designs for Crosby, Stills & Nash' self-titled debut album, Richard Pryor, Steppenwolf, The Monkees, Dove Records and Joni Mitchell, Gary Burden (American, 1933-2018), circa 1968-1969,

Crosby, Stills, Nash / Neil Young: A group of Vintage Contact Sheets by Henry Diltz (American, born 1938) and Gary Burden, 1969-1970, 8

Crosby, Stills & Nash: Two album cover proofs for Crosby, Stills & Nash, 1969, 2

Richard Pryor: A Grammy Nomination Plaque for the Album Richard Pryor, 1969,

Crosby, Stills & Nash: Two album cover proofs for Crosby, Stills & Nash, 1969, 2

Crosby, Stills & Nash: An RIAA 'Gold' Disc Award for the Album Crosby, Stills, & Nash, 1969,

Crosby, Stills & Nash: An RIAA 'Platinum' Disc Award for the Album Crosby, Stills & Nash, 1969,

Crosby, Stills & Nash: Three album cover proofs for their debut album Crosby, Stills & Nash, 1969, 3

Gary Burden's Personal & Working Sketchbook 5 featuring designs for Neil Young, Poco, Laura Nyro, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's 'Deja Vu' album and Lookout Management, Gary Burden (American, 1933-2018), circa 1969,

The Who/Poco: An original concert poster designed by Rick Griffin, 1969,