LeRoy Neiman 2026 Collector’s Edition Heading To Retailers
Did you ever hear Marilyn Monroe’s sultry rendition of “Happy Birthday To You”? She sang it to President John F. Kennedy in New York City at Madison Square Garden for his birthday gala in 1962. The first lady wasn’t around for this performance. Make of that what you will, but artist (and cigar lover) LeRoy Neiman certainly had a take. He painted the event in his distinctly splashy style and called it The President’s Birthday Party. J.C. Newman Cigar Co. has adopted that very painting and reproduced it for the fourth LeRoy Neiman Collector’s Edition, which is shipping to retailers today.
“We chose this patriotic birthday image because this year is the 250th birthday of the United States,” says Drew Newman, fourth-generation owner of J.C. Newman. “Bobby Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson, among others, are also featured in LeRoy’s painting.”
Offered in one size (Toro Grande, 6 1/2 inches by 56 ring gauge, $24) the cigar is composed of an Ecuador Habano wrapper, Florida sun-grown binder and filler blend of tobacco from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Each Toro Grande comes enveloped in a small sleeve of the painting, which is also rendered as a lithograph on the box’s inner lid, making the box a mini gallery exhibition of sorts. The cigars are made in Tampa, Florida, at the El Reloj factory, which is located on the top floor of J.C. Newman headquarters.
Each box contains 20 cigars. Only 750 boxes are being produced. Today’s release also coincides with President John F. Kennedy’s birthday, who would have turned 109 years old.
J.C. Newman says that all profits from the sale of these cigars will support arts education in public schools.
