If the Beatles could sell a white, signature-clad wall for $1 million, then the only painting created by all four Beatles will likely fare even better. The successful band created a painting together while on tour in Japan, and it is now up for auction, potentially fetching up to $600,000. The 1966 painting by The Beatles, titled ‘Images of a Woman,’ is set to go under the hammer on February 1 next year at Christie’s in New York. This visually striking, colorful acrylic and watercolor abstract painting on paper was made while the band was touring in Japan.
In the middle of a tour that comprised five shows in three days at Japan’s well-known Nippon Budokan arena, they managed to create a work of art known as ‘Images of a Woman’ while staying in the presidential suite of the Tokyo Hilton, according to CNN. The Fab Four, aptly named, certainly accomplished a lot during the 100 hours they spent in the Land of the Rising Sun.
‘Images of a Woman’ is estimated to fetch between $400,000 and $600,000 and ‘crystallizes a magic moment in Beatles history,’ Christie’s specialist Casey Rogers said in a phone interview. ‘It’s such a rarity to have a work on paper outside of their music catalog that is a physical relic, this tangible object with contributions from all four of The Beatles,’ she commented on the 21.5- by 31-inch painting. ‘It’s memorabilia, it’s a work of art, and it appeals to probably a much larger cross-section of collectors… It’s a wonderful piece of storytelling.’
The musical legends were requested not to leave their hotel unless for the show, due to security concerns. Some irked Japanese nationalists were agitated by a Western rock band performing at an arena considered a spiritual home for martial arts. Thanks to a visitor who provided them with art supplies, each Beatle sat at a corner and brought another artistic dimension to the table.
Photographer Robert Whitaker, who captured the group at work, shared, ‘I never saw them calmer or more contented than at this time.’ Fans of The Beatles are aware that John Lennon attended art school, and McCartney studied the subject, too. George Harrison and Ringo Starr also were known to draw ‘often and with plenty of talent,’ the Christie’s press release added. Lennon and McCartney chose acrylic, while Harrison and Starr relied more on watercolor.
Their signatures are located where the lamp sat at the center of the sheet. The completed work was given to the Tokyo Beatles Fan Club, then acquired by its then-president Tetsusaburo Shimoyama. After Shimoyama’s death in 1989, the painting was auctioned off to collector Takao Nishino, who had it boxed up under his bed for more than four decades, according to Artnet.
