Muhammad Ali pool canvas
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- Regular price€19,00
The essentials: Flip Schulke's 1961 photograph: Cassius Clay, 19, on guard at the bottom of a Miami swimming pool. Turquoise throughout, photographic print on cotton canvas, 10 sizes from 20 × 30 cm / 8 × 12 in to 110 × 160 cm / 43 × 63 in. Frame sold separately. From €19 to €109 depending on size, free standard shipping.
The hoax that produced a mythical picture
In 1961 photographer Flip Schulke was sent by Sports Illustrated to cover a 19 year old heavyweight named Cassius Clay, back from Rome with an Olympic gold medal. To impress him, Schulke showed him his underwater series on water skiers, published in Life. The next day, at the Sir John Hotel in the Overtown district of Miami — one of the few desegregated pools in the country — he found the boxer already in the water, throwing punches below the surface.
Clay explained that an old trainer had recommended the exercise, the resistance of the water acting as a load. Sports Illustrated passed on the story; Life ran it in September 1961 under the title A Wet Way to Train for a Fight. Three years later, by then world champion, Ali went through the album with Schulke, stopped on these frames and winked at him. The photographer worked out only afterwards that he had been played from start to finish: Ali had never boxed underwater, and could not swim. At 19, he already knew how to manufacture a picture the world would talk about.
What you see
Portrait format, shot from below at the bottom of the pool. The boxer holds a guard, feet flat on the tiles, fists in front of his face, bare chested, in white trunks with a black stripe. Water fills the entire frame in an even turquoise, crossed by the reflections of the surface above his head, where his own silhouette appears upside down. No text, no logo anywhere.
From 3 m / 10 ft you see a block of turquoise and a dark figure; from 1 m / 3 ft the bubbles and the folds of the water come through.
Technical specifications
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Subject | Cassius Clay on guard underwater, Miami, 1961 |
| Finish | Colour photograph, turquoise throughout |
| Orientation | Portrait |
| Material | Cotton canvas, high definition digital print |
| Inks | Pigment based, UV resistant |
| Thickness | 3 mm / 0.12 in |
| Canvas delivery | Rolled in a protective tube, no stretcher bars |
| Frame | Frame sold separately |
| Care | Dry microfibre cloth, barely damp cloth if needed |
| Use | Indoor |
| Sizes | 20 × 30, 30 × 45, 40 × 60, 50 × 70, 60 × 90, 70 × 100, 80 × 120, 90 × 130, 100 × 150, 110 × 160 cm (8 × 12 to 43 × 63 in) |
| Price | From €19 to €109 depending on size |
| Shipping | Free standard shipping |
Worth knowing: the flat turquoise works like a wall colour — in a neutral room it supplies the tone on its own. It is also the Ali canvas that draws the most questions from visitors, because the scene looks like no other boxing image. Frames are sold separately: wooden frame up to 100 cm / 39 in per side, XXL wooden frame from 110 to 200 cm / 43 to 79 in, or aluminium frame in 8 finishes.
A flat turquoise behaves like a wall colour
Water fills almost the whole frame, so from a distance the canvas acts as a panel of colour as much as a picture. In a neutral room 60 × 90 cm / 24 × 35 in is enough to carry the tone; above a headboard, 80 × 120 cm / 31 × 47 in holds the width. The size chart by wall type covers the other placements room by room.
You may also like
- Cassius Clay canvas — the same fighter under the name he was born with, if you want his years before 1964.
- Ali vs Liston 1965 canvas — the 1965 press photograph in black and white, if you want the most recognisable image of his career.
- Boxing ring canvas — the ring seen from above on a square format, if you have a narrow wall to fill.
Frequently asked questions
Did Muhammad Ali really train underwater?
No. He told Flip Schulke that an old trainer had him punching under the surface, the photographer believed it, and Life published the series in September 1961. Ali admitted years later that he had made the story up for the camera, and that he could not swim.
Where was the underwater photo of Ali taken?
At the pool of the Sir John Hotel, in the Overtown district of Miami, in 1961 — one of the few desegregated hotel pools in the United States at the time. He was still fighting under the name Cassius Clay; he took the name Muhammad Ali three years later.
What size canvas should I hang above a sofa?
The working rule is about two thirds of the width of the furniture below it, centred 145 cm / 57 in from the floor. Over a 200 cm / 79 in three-seater, that means 80 × 120 cm / 31 × 47 in; over a two-seater, 60 × 90 cm / 24 × 35 in; in a hallway, 30 × 45 cm / 12 × 18 in. The full size chart by wall type is on the Ali vs Liston 1965 page.
Can this canvas go in a bathroom?
It is printed for indoor use, and a bathroom that is ventilated after use suits it. Keep it off the wall directly above a bath or a shower screen, where the canvas takes steam at close range, and away from several hours of direct sun a day.
Does the canvas come with a frame?
No, the canvas ships on its own, rolled in a protective tube. Frames are sold separately: wooden frame up to 100 cm / 39 in per side, XXL wooden frame from 110 to 200 cm / 43 to 79 in, or aluminium frame in 8 finishes. The wooden kits are 2.5 cm / 1 in thick and come with instructions.
How do I clean a canvas print?
A dry microfibre cloth handles almost everything. For a mark that stays, use a barely damp cloth with no detergent, wiping across the surface. No abrasive sponge, no glass cleaner.
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