Drawings created by John Lennon for what some believe was the world's first rock music video have gone on display at the Liverpool Beatles Museum. These distinctive pop art images, a collaboration between Lennon and artist Stephen Verona, were used in a promotional film for The Beatles' 1960s hit, 'I Feel Fine'.
Rediscovered Artworks
The original set of 240 drawings was sold by Christie's in 2000 for more than 58,000 US dollars, subsequently becoming separated. Ten of these pieces have now gone on public display at the Liverpool Beatles Museum, after collector Joseph O'Donnell spotted them at an auction.
Mr O'Donnell, aged 29 and from Tynemouth, said: "I'm a big Beatles fan and I spotted these at an auction in London, where they weren't really made a big deal of. I thought I would have a go at bidding on them, although I thought it might go a bit crazy, and I managed to get them at a reasonable price. Each artwork features a different word from the song and I was able to piece them together to make a full sentence."
Collaboration with Stephen Verona
Lennon collaborated with American artist and filmmaker Verona, who died in 2019, after a chance meeting in a London nightclub. In a later interview, Verona said the two of them sat at the kitchen table of his Manhattan apartment to colour in the images using felt tip markers, while smoking.
The drawings on display show the lines "baby says she's mine" and "in love with her" as well as two singular artworks for the words "and" and "I". They were unveiled at the museum, on Mathew Street, on Thursday and will be on display for several months.
Collector's Passion
Mr O'Donnell, who eventually plans to sell them on, wanted to loan them to the museum to allow other fans to see them together. He said: "I think interest in the Beatles will never go away. Someone has to be the best, it's as simple as that. There has to be a greatest band in the world and it's the Beatles."
Last year, a school desk once used by John Lennon, and reportedly hidden away because teachers considered him a "nuisance", was unearthed from an attic and went on public display. The item, discovered at Quarry Bank School in Liverpool, is set to become a centrepiece at the Liverpool Beatles Museum. The desk, from what is now The Calderstones School, will be exhibited alongside other artefacts from the legendary musician's schooldays, including the enrolment ledger recording Lennon's details after he passed his 11-plus, signed by his aunt Mimi Smith.
