Michael Jordan Auction

A larger-than-life GOAT deserves a larger-than-life portrait. And it should be signed by said GOAT—especially if it's the GOAT of all GOATs, His Airness, Michael Jordan.

Earlier this year, Goldin sold a Jordan signed "Last Shot" painting for over $200,000.
That photorealistic scene measured 4.5 feet x 3 feet.

This "Last Dance" alternative is likewise beautifully signed, yet spans 3 times the surface area and features the abstract artistry of James A. Peterson. At 11 feet high, the portrait is twice as tall as Mugsy Bogues, 1 foot higher than a regulation basketball rim, and 2.5 feet above Wemby. It's worthy of a museum wall, or the Basketball Hall of Fame's wall, and yet it's publicly available to grace YOUR wall.

The back-story is as extraordinary as the masterpiece itself. On Mar. 29, 1998, Peterson brought two paintings to Milwaukee's Bradley Center—both for Jordan to sign, and one as a gift for MJ to keep. Which he did. Meaning that Michael himself owns the corresponding pair that, as described below, he said he would never sell.

Peterson's accompanying LOP reads, in part, "So I have these two paintings of MJ leaned up against the wall under the bleachers. One is 11 foot tall and one is four feet by five feet. And the 11 foot tall one, even in this huge hallway underneath the bleachers, looks massive. It's stood up under a bunch of cables and stuff tight against the wall….Jordan and his security entourage come walking in…I've only seen him from far away on the court or on TV before. Not this close. He's right there…I swear, and if you ask anyone, he carried an energy with him. I don't even know how to describe it. Not even confidence, just some kind of force. And I don't know what to say…Jordan looks at the paintings, doesn't smile or anything and just says, 'I'll take care of those after'…And then he just went into the locker room…

"Jordan scored 30 and the Bulls won…Jordan comes out and I give him the gold paint pen to sign and he walks over to the 11 foot tall one and he just signs right in the middle. And it's right between the eyes and it's perfect. It's exactly the spot that I would have picked for him to sign. So it was super cool to have that happen. Fateful even. He walks up to it, signs it, and then he hands me back the pen…So I ask MJ, 'Aren't you going to sign yours?' And he asks, 'Why would I sign mine?' And I said the only thing I could think of, 'Well, it'll increase the value.' And his response was so instant and great. He simply said, I'm never going to sell it'…A pretty unreal situation for me to meet the best player in the history of the NBA, get him to sign this enormous portrait, and gift him a work of mine he will keep forever."

James A. Peterson LOP. Beckett LOA for signature.