Bonhams Rock, Pop & Film sale will be held on Wednesday, 29 November in Knightsbridge, London.
Claire Tole-Moir of Bonhams, Head of Popular Culture, London commented on the monumental mosaic commissioned by John Lennon: “This is an outstanding example of John Lennon’s artistic influences and vision.” Lennon’s Kenwood house was a refuge from the attention he received during The Beatles’ peak popularity. Lennon was said to have spent idle hours by the pool, and the tile mosaic can be seen in his favorite’sunroom.’ Kenwood is still privately owned, so it’s rare to find anything from the time John Lennon was there. The ‘Psychedelic Eye” mosaic, therefore, is an important piece of Beatles history.
Joseph Ritrovato was a master tiler and created the mosaic, which consisted of 17,000 tiles. He installed the mosaic by himself on the wall at the deep end of John Lennon’s swimming pool in Kenwood, Surrey, in 1965. Johnny Dean, editor of The Beatles Monthly, and Leslie Bryce visited John at Kenwood on 29 June 1967. John and Julian Lennon, as well as the rest of the family were photographed around the house. This included a shot beside the pool and the mosaic.
John Lennon was the owner of Kenwood between July 1964 and late spring 1968. The mosaic was displayed in the swimming pool of Kenwood between 1965 and 1984. It was then removed for preservation from the wall by Kenwood’s owners, as well as the mosaic’s co-owners. The John Lennon Psychedelic eye mosaic was first displayed in public at The International Garden Festival, Royal Festival Gardens in Liverpool between 1985 and 1987. The mosaic remained at the Royal Festival Gardens, Liverpool until 2002 when it was relocated to The Museum of Liverpool Life. In 2016, the mosaic was part of a V&A international blockbuster counterculture exhibition, ‘You say you want a revolution?’
Highlights of the sale include:
* Hilary Gerrard’s collection, former business manager to Ringo starr. The 60 lots include gifts, posters and books as well as disc awards, furniture, cards, and other items given by the Beatles. Highlights include a drawing by John Lennon of Hilary Gerrard (estimate PS6,000-8,000) and an Egg Chair that was custom-made in 1969 by EMI (estimate PS2,500-3,500).
* Items of Marc Bolan’s Manager Tony Howard including drawings, letters and photographs, tee-shirts and backstage passes. These items have never been offered before at auction.
Noddy Holder’s Slade seasonal smash ‘Merry Xmas Everybody.’ Original artwork. All proceeds will be donated to Retune, a mental health charity. Estimate: PS3,000-5,000.
* Led Zepplin – An autographed copy of the album Led Zeppelin II from the early 1970s. Estimate: PS20,000-30,000.
An original Joy Division poster from 1979 for “Unknown Pleasures” by Natalie Curtis. Natalie is the daughter of Ian Curtis (56-1980), lyricist of Joy Division and their frontman. Estimated price: £3,000-£4,000.
The seamstress that made Freddie Mercury’s rainbow-coloured arrow jacket for Queen’s Hot Space tour in 1982 is offering costume design material. Estimate: PS2,000-3,000.
A large selection of music memorabilia has been donated by Warner Music to this charity auction. Stars such as Liam Gallagher and Mott Crue have also contributed. Other stars include Slash, Radiohead and Abba.
Robert Rosen: A large group of vintage Polaroids taken by Rosen and signed by various film/music/TV stars, 1980s-00s. Approximately 340 colour Polaroids signed by celebrities featured in the photos. Notable people include: David Bowie; Bill Wyman; Grace Jones; Elton John and Sting. Estimate: PS30,000-35,000.
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