Whether you are a motion picture fan, a racing fan, or both, this month’s edition of Arthur Benjamins: Put Art on My Wall!, features two icons of both cinema and motorsport. The best part is you too can put these legendary leading men on your wall.

Famed Dutch artist, Arthur Benjamins, came by over the weekend. Previous to going to a show to see the local Phoenix jam band, The Noodles, Arthur replaced his colorful pointillism paintings of Graham Hill and Jimmy Clark with the abstract pieces of Steve McQueen and Paul Newman.

Both of these men personified “Cool.” Their in-depth character acting and their love of all things mechanical made them immensely popular both on and off the screen and endeared immortality to those in the car culture. Both filmed racing movies, right in the wheelhouse of their passions. Newman appeared with his wife, Joanne Woodward, and longtime friend Robert Wagner in Winning; while McQueen produced and starred in amongst other notable films, the cinematic masterpiece, LeMans.

Having their deep blue eyes meet mine as I enter my media room sends chills — understandably. In a way, it is like looking at a window into eternity.

Dutch Artist Arthur Benjamins actually hung the art himself on my wall!

I was fortunate enough to have met Paul Newman, the actor, race driver, and philanthropist, several times during his tenure as co-owner of Newman/Haas Racing back in the 1980s. My father worked with Paul and Carl Haas doing sponsor sleuthing and public relations. He was completely at home at the track. It could be said he made untold millions as an actor, but that was his job. He was enamored with speed and much preferred the surroundings of the many racing circuits around the world.

Paul Newman by Arthur Benjamins

Starting out, in the early 1970s, Newman would simply enter Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) races anonymously under the alias of P.L. Newman at Lime Rock, Connecticut. He was quite competitive as he racked up several national titles in the American sports car series. Until almost two weeks before succumbing to lung cancer (many don’t know he was a life-long smoker), he was still driving race cars. A group of friends brought him out to Lime Rock for a last hurrah. Notable attendees included champion race driver, Sam Posey, who himself has been fighting Parkinson’s for nearly two decades to the present.

Posey told me, “Newman was still fast, putting in very competitive times.”

The abstract iconographic Benjamins painting captures the essence of Newman. Staring at it almost makes the viewer want to engage in a conversation.

The original work is acrylic and enamel paint on wood and measures 24” x 37.5” x 2” inches. It is offered for $3950.00.

Steve McQueen, who’s portrait, straight out of the movie LeMans, was actually known as the “King of Cool.” He was also Paul Newman’s professional arch-rival in the movie business. His larger-than-life persona, however, started out in the most humble of circumstances.

Steve McQueen by Arthur Benjamins

Born to a single mother in Indiana in 1930, McQueen’s early childhood saw him passed around to his grandparents and uncle until he was reunited with his mother and stepfather in Los Angeles, who reputedly beat the young McQueen. His mother’s second husband was no better. At 14, McQueen joined the circus for a time then took to the streets and was caught stealing hubcaps.

The second stepfather persuaded McQueen’s mother to sign a court order, deeming him incorrigible and remanding him to the California Boy’s Republic in Chino. It was this place that helped him come of maturity and focus. To this day the Boy’s Republic honors their most famous resident with a benefit car show in his name. McQueen himself was a generous patron to the “juvie school” throughout his adult life. It is said he would visit and play pool with the young men, regaling them with stories.

After a stint in the merchant marine and working at a brothel. He would then join the Marines and used his G.I. Bill to take acting classes in New York. The rest, they say, is history.

In his abridged life — which could be compared to 20 lives of the layman — he was an Academy Award-winning actor, producer, entrepreneur, motorcycle, and car racer. He passed in 1980 at age 50 of pleural mesothelioma — a cancer caused by asbestos exposure.

For race fans, McQueen would be immortalized in the movies, Bullitt and LeMans. In this beautiful likeness, McQueen is suiting up for his stint in the Porsche 917 to do battle on the famed Circuit de la Sarthe with the Ferrari of Erich Stahler. The character is no relation to the author — I mean come on, he was a made-up character, played by Siegfried Rauch.

One of the first observations, beyond the blue eyes, is the epochal Heuer Monaco watch on his wrist. In a way, it’s like standing there with him as he suits up. The original McQueen portrait has already been sold, however, 30”x40”x2” prints on canvas, signed and numbered by the artist. are available for $1500.00

As always, I will look forward to seeing what Arthur has in store for me next month.