Kobe met Quigley while shooting an Adidas commercial in 1996 outside the artist's Brewery Arts studio in downtown LA. Bryant had not played a game in the NBA yet. Both from Philadelphia they hit it off and shot baskets daily for 4 days. In 1997 the future NBA legend bought an 8ft painting Quigley made of Bryant winning the dunk contest.
In 1995 Shaquille O'Neal met Quigley in the same location, played ball for 3 months shooting the movie Kazaam and bought 5 paintings including his portrait and an Arnold Schwarzenegger painting that eventually Arnold wanted to buy from Shaq.
In 2018 Quigley was asked by the Lakers to make a painting for Bryant's retirement. Sadly Kobe never saw the finished painting. It was purchased by Fabrice Gautier and now hangs proudly in his Beverly Hills fitness facility alongside Quigley's 8ft Magic Johnson painting exposing it to many prominent pro athletes who train with Gautier and inspired by the Mamba Mentality.
Published by Pitch Black Editions in 2022. Read the full story in the Stopping Time Mamba Collection.
Hand-signed, artist-supervised, archival museum-quality print. Limited edition of 24.
