The only known Beatles painting sold for $1.74 million at auction in New York. The work, which a Japanese journalist in the 1980s called “Images of a Woman,” was created in 1966, when the band was confined to a hotel room in Tokyo for days due to extreme security concerns.
Prior to the auction, auction house Christie’s had hoped for a return of between 400,000 and 600,000 dollars (about 370,000 to 555,000 euros) for the psychedelic painting, on which all four members of the “Fab Four” from Liverpool collaborated. This was amply exceeded at Thursday’s auction (local time): the photo fetched a price of 1.61 million euros.
“I have never seen her so calm and content”
The Beatles used a “moment of calm in a turbulent time” to create an abstract work of art using art supplies given to them by fans, said photographer Robert Whitaker, who was on site and photographed the band’s painting. “I have never seen her as calm and content as she is now.”
Each corner of the painting reflects a personal touch, with a wide variety of shapes, colors and even the colors used. The role of George Harrison seems to come out the furthest, while the role of Ringo Starr is smaller and more cartoonish. Both John Lennon and Paul McCartney worked primarily in acrylic paint, while Harrison and Starr used primarily watercolors, Christie’s said.
Beatles never officially titled the painting
In the center of the painting is a round white spot with the Beatles’ signatures. During the creation of the artwork, which the Beatles never titled, a floor lamp stood in this spot to weigh down the paper while it was painted. Because a Japanese journalist thought he saw female genitalia in McCartney’s part of the photo, he dubbed it “Images of a Woman,” the auction house reported.
The photo was taken during the Beatles’ concert tour to Japan, where they performed a total of five times within three days from June 30 to July 2, 1966 at the Nippon Budōkan, a martial arts hall in the Japanese capital Tokyo (the video below shows short excerpts from the execution on July 2, 1966). Although ‘Beatlemania’ had already reached Japan, there were detractors who considered the band from England an ’emblem of an invasive Western culture’ and rejected it completely.
Band spent most of his time at the hotel for security reasons
Therefore, the Fab Four were isolated for security reasons during their tour of Japan and spent the time before and after their performances almost alone in the presidential suite of the Hilton Hotel in Tokyo. The paper and paint were supplied by the Japanese promoter, who proposed auctioning the completed painting for charity – which happened. It was purchased at the time by the president of the local Beatles fan club.
In 2002, the painting subsequently appeared on the auction website eBay and in September 2012 it was again offered for sale through Philip Weiss Auctions and sold for $155,250.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
