Joe Frazier vintage canvas
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- Regular price€19,00
The essentials: Joe Frazier in a guard, red gloves raised, green trunks with a pale waistband, on a stained aged paper ground in a desaturated treatment where the paint runs past the outlines. 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.
He hit beef carcasses before the film did
Before he was world champion, Joe Frazier worked in a slaughterhouse in Philadelphia. He trained in the mornings before his shift, in the cold room, hitting the hanging carcasses — because he could not afford a heavy bag. A television report filmed the scene in 1969.
Seven years later a boxing film reproduced the image exactly and made it famous worldwide, to the point where many now credit it to fiction. Frazier spent the rest of his life reminding people he had done it first, for real. Technically, hitting a cold dense mass is closer to a wall than to a bag: it teaches you to place the shot, not to push it.
What you see
Portrait format, beige to ochre ground worked as old paper, stained and scuffed. The boxer is framed from the thighs up, in a guard with his fists in front of his chest, bare chested, dark red gloves, green trunks with a wide pale waistband.
Skin and setting are desaturated towards ochre; only the gloves and the trunks keep their colour. Spatter and runs spill past the outline into the ground. From 3 m / 10 ft you read a boxer in a guard on an old ground; from 1 m / 3 ft the stains in the paper appear.
Technical specifications
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Subject | Joe Frazier in a guard on an aged paper ground |
| Finish | Desaturated illustration, spatter and runs |
| Dominant colours | Beige, ochre, red, green |
| 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 sepia finish suits interiors of wood, leather and brick, where saturated canvases clash. It is the version without statistics of the record poster, to choose for a living room rather than a corridor. 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 paper texture that needs surface
The boxer separates from the ochre ground at 20 × 30 cm / 8 × 12 in already. What makes the aged finish — the stains, the scuffs, the runs spilling past the body — only appears from 50 × 70 cm / 20 × 28 in, and from a sofa at 80 × 120 cm / 31 × 47 in. The size chart by wall type covers the other placements room by room.
You may also like
- Joe Frazier record canvas — the same fighter as a record poster, if you want the figures beside the image.
- Ali vs Frazier canvas — the rivalry as a landscape photograph, with both men in the ring.
- Sepia boxing canvas — the same aged paper treatment applied to his great opponent, for hanging as a pair.
Frequently asked questions
Did Joe Frazier really train on beef carcasses?
Yes. He worked in a Philadelphia slaughterhouse and hit the hanging carcasses in the cold room before his shift, because he could not afford a bag. A television report filmed it in 1969, seven years before the film that made the image famous.
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.
Are the marks on the ground a defect?
No, they are printed. The stains, scuffs and runs are part of the artwork, identical on every copy and every size, and they do not develop with time.
What wall colour does this canvas work against?
A warm wall — beige, brick, dark wood — where the ochre ground carries on the materials already in the room, rather than a cool grey or white where it looks washed out.
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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