Widely considered the world’s most influential sports photographer and dubbed as “the Rembrandt of sports photography” due to his use of light and shadow, color, and composition, Walter Iooss Jr.’s images transcend the fame of his subjects and have come to represent modern sports culture. But the secret to his success is a carefully crafted rapport with his subjects. As a result, his work has forever changed the definition of what a “good sports photograph” should be.
Born to a family of sports fans in Texas in 1943, Iooss discovered photography aged 15 when his father gave him a camera. Within a year, he had begun photographing professional football games, and at just 17, he got his first assignment for Sports Illustrated. By 20, he was shooting the magazine’s covers.
Iooss’s images have appeared on over 300 covers of Sports Illustrated—more than any other photographer in the world. In a career spanning more than 60 years, he has worked with almost every athlete at the top of their game, including Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Pele, Cristiano Ronaldo, Michael Phelps, Tiger Woods, Serena Williams, and Kobe Bryant.
Iooss has photographed every single one of the first 52 Super Bowls; published a book on the 18 months he spent following US athletes as they prepared for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles called Shooting for the Gold; created a New York Times bestselling photo essay, Rare Air, with Michael Jordan; and shot campaigns for the likes of Nike, Adidas, Coca-Cola, and more.
In more recent years, his pictures have been the subject of several gallery shows and a solo artist auction at Christie’s New York in 2020 called Athlete: Photographs by Walter Iooss, Jr. The exhibitions include Athlete: The Sports Illustrated Photography of Walter Iooss at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. in 2009; Sport: Iooss and Leifer at the Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles in 2009; and LEGENDS: The Sports Photography of Walter Iooss at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum in Connecticut in 2019-2020.
In 2018, Iooss was inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame.
Sporting Life: The Diaries of Walter Iooss Jr.
I’ve kept a record of my life and photography in diaries since 1978. They’ve proven invaluable as a tool when looking back for information and as a creative outlet that has complimented my photography. They’ve even made some pictures better in the context of my doodles, life, and the times—whether personal notations or headlines from newspapers and magazines.
Along with these diaries, I am happy to include a single image from each spread as a standalone Open Edition.
-Walter Iooss Jr.
January 2022
The Diaries – 1/1s
Tuesday, July 23rd – Wednesday, July 24th, 1991: Magic Act
Editions: One
Pricing: Accepting Offers Only
*A 24 hour auction will ensue once reserve price is met.
Wednesday, July 9th – Thursday, July 10th, 1997: This Is Bullish
Editions: One
Pricing: Accepting Offers Only
*A 24 hour auction will ensue once reserve price is met.
Thursday, July 6th – Friday, July 7th, 2000: M.J. & K.G.
Editions: One
Pricing: Accepting Offers Only
*A 24 hour auction will ensue once reserve price is met.
Thursday, March 25th – Friday, March 26th, 2010: Kobe
Editions: One
Pricing: Accepting Offers Only
*A 24 hour auction will ensue once reserve price is met.
Walter Iooss Jr. Mystery Box
Artworks will be available through a Mystery Box mechanism: Purchase an artwork from the box for a flat ETH/$ amount and receive a probabilistically selected edition. Mystery box will be open for 24 hours, starting at drop time 1/26 at 3:30 PM PT.
Magic Johnson, Beverly HIlls, CA 1991
Editions: probability of 35%
Pricing: $999
*Artworks will be available through a Mystery Box mechanism: Purchase an artwork from the box for a flat ETH/$ amount and receive a probabilistically selected edition. Mystery box will be open for 24 hours, starting at drop time 1/26 at 3:30 PM PT.
Eddie George, Santa Monica, CA 1997
Editions: probability of 30%
Pricing: $999
*Artworks will be available through a Mystery Box mechanism: Purchase an artwork from the box for a flat ETH/$ amount and receive a probabilistically selected edition. Mystery box will be open for 24 hours, starting at drop time 1/26 at 3:30 PM PT.
Kevin Garnett, Minnesota, MN 1999
Editions: probability of 25%
Pricing: $999
*Artworks will be available through a Mystery Box mechanism: Purchase an artwork from the box for a flat ETH/$ amount and receive a probabilistically selected edition. Mystery box will be open for 24 hours, starting at drop time 1/26 at 3:30 PM PT.
Kobe Bryant, Oklahoma City, OK 2010
Editions: probability of 10%
Pricing: $999
*Artworks will be available through a Mystery Box mechanism: Purchase an artwork from the box for a flat ETH/$ amount and receive a probabilistically selected edition. Mystery box will be open for 24 hours, starting at drop time 1/26 at 3:30 PM PT.
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