When Dynasty premiered on ABC in 1981 as competition for CBS’ Dallas, the show’s ratings were less than impressive. Then Alexis Carrington entered the picture. The glamorous villain played by Joan Collins joined the show in Season 2 and immediately raised the ratings – and temperature – of the nighttime soap opera about a wealthy Denver oil family. Whether she was firing off scathing insults or brawling in a lily pond with archenemy Krystle Carrington, Alexis kept viewers tuning in and helped make the series the No. 1 show in its 1984-85 season, beating out its Texas-based rival in celebrating ’80s excess. This monumental painting of Alexis sporting big hair and even bigger shoulders was commissioned by production so she could always look down on those around her. It was rendered in the palette and style of popular artist of the era LeRoy Neiman, who was known for capturing “the brash, brassy life of conspicuous consumption.”
Intelligent Collector