Images of a Woman
Images of a Woman | |
---|---|
Artist | The Beatles (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr) |
Year | 1966 |
Medium | Oil and watercolour on paper |
Dimensions | 76 cm × 100 cm (30 in × 40 in) |
Location | New York City, United States |
Images of a Woman, also known as The Tokyo Painting, is an abstract painting by the 1960s pop group the Beatles.[1][2] It is believed to be the only painting produced collaboratively by the group.
History
Images of a Woman was painted over three nights in July 1966 in a Tokyo Hilton suite where all four of the Beatles (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr) were staying as part of their tour of the Far East. The group had been placed in lockdown as a precaution by the Japanese authorities after death threats had been received. The Japanese tour promoter, Tats Nagashima, had painting materials brought in for the group to use. The band's tour photographer, Robert Whitaker, was present and was amazed by how tranquil the band members seemed as they painted: "Absolutely the best period I ever witnessed among the Beatles", Whitaker said,[1] adding that he "never saw them calmer, more contented than at this time... They'd stop, go and do a concert, and then it was 'Let's go back to the picture!'"[3]
The resulting painting was given to a charity auction. It was originally bought by the Japanese Beatles fan club president, Tetsusaburo Shimoyama.[1][2] In the mid-1990s it was sold to an art dealer in Osaka for around $191,000, and re-appeared in 2002 on the website eBay. It was put up for sale by Philip Weiss Auctions in 2012,[4] selling in New York City for $155,250.[1][2] The painting was auctioned again at Christie's in February 2024, where it sold for £1.4 million.[5]
Description
Each of the Beatles painted one corner of the 30 × 40 inch canvas.[4] Despite the painting's title, it does not feature any figurative depictions of a woman, consisting only of abstract designs painted using oil and watercolour against a brightly coloured background. A lamp left in the middle of the canvas left a blank circle when it was removed; the group used this space for their signatures.[1][2] Based on photographs taken at the time, it appears that the Beatles painted the following sections (when viewing the image with the signatures the correct way up); [6]
Section | Painter |
---|---|
Top-Left | John Lennon |
Top-Right | Paul McCartney |
Bottom-Left | Ringo Starr |
Bottom-Right | George Harrison |
References
- ^ a b c d e Ingham, Chris (2009). The Rough Guide to the Beatles. Rough Guides UK. p. 129. ISBN 978-1848367524.
- ^ a b c d Womack, Kenneth (2014). The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0313391729.
- ^ David Wolman (6 September 2012). "How a Painting by the Beatles Ended Up Stashed Under a Bed for 20 Years". theatlantic.com.
- ^ a b Julie Zeveloff (23 August 2012). "The Beatles Painted This Picture While They Were Holed Up In A Tokyo Hotel". Business Insider.
- ^ 'Fab draw: painting believed to be only artwork composed by all four Beatles sells for £1.4 million', in The Daily Telegraph, 4 February 2024
- ^ Not Credited (22 December 2019). "Rare Photos of The Beatles Painting "Images of a Woman," the Only Known Painting by All Four Members in Tokyo, 1966". www.vintag.es.
- v
- t
- e
performances
- 1960 Johnny Gentle Tour
- Winter 1963 Helen Shapiro Tour
- 1963 Roy Orbison Tour
- The Ed Sullivan Show appearances
- 1964 world tour
- The Beatles' 1964 tour of Australia
- 1964 North American tour
- 1965 European tour
- 1965 US tour
- 1965 UK tour
- 1966 tour of Germany, Japan and the Philippines
- 1966 US tour
- Our World performance
- Rooftop concert
companies
places
- 10 Admiral Grove
- 12 Arnold Grove
- 20 Forthlin Road
- 251 Menlove Avenue
- 34 Montagu Square, Marylebone
- Abbey Road, London
- Ad Lib Club
- The Bag O'Nails
- Beatles Ashram
- Beatles-Platz
- Blue Angel
- Casbah Coffee Club
- Candlestick Park
- Carnegie Hall
- The Cavern Club
- Cavern Mecca
- Comiskey Park
- The Jacaranda
- Kaiserkeller
- Kinfauns
- London Palladium
- Penny Lane, Liverpool
- 3 Savile Row
- The Scotch of St. James
- Shea Stadium
- St Peter's Church
- Stanley Street
- Star-Club
- Strawberry Field
- Tittenhurst Park
- The Top Ten Club
- Wigmore Street
- The Beatles Anthology
- The Beatles: The Authorised Biography
- A Cellarful of Noise
- I, Me, Mine
- Lennon Remembers
- Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now
- Apple Corps v Apple Computer
- Apple scruffs
- Beatle boot
- The Beatles at Abbey Road
- Beatlesque
- Beat music
- Cultural impact
- Global Beatles Day
- Images of a Woman
- Lennon–McCartney
- "Paul is dead"
- Recording practices
- The Beatles: Rock Band
- songs
- Category