USA: A new art exhibit features John Lennon's original sketches

Days before what would have been John Lennon's 65th birthday, a rare collection of his artwork is unveiled in New York City. The collection, entitled "Imagine: The Artwork of John Lennon" is presented by Lennon's widow Yoko Ono, and features some rare, original Lennon sketches. The majority of the displayed pieces are replicas of Lennon's originals still held by Ono. They capture his love for her and often feature the two in romantic embraces. Others celebrate Lennon's love for live, peace, and music. The highlight of the exhibit, however, is a series of original Lennon sketches. Priced between 25,000 and 32,000 U.S. dollars, the pieces are for sale and offer the lucky buyer the chance to own a rare piece of history. "Since John didn't do art to sell, he did art as an illustrator, or gave art away, it's very rare because there aren't many signed pieces in the world. So what you have here is something extremely rare," organizer of the exhibit, Larry Schwartz said. While Lennon is remembered for his music, he loved to paint and also published many books of comical drawings. Some of Lennon's creations have even become part of museum collections worldwide. "John mastered the art of oriental line drawing, which is to create an image in as few lines as possible, so a lot of the sketches were done in a matter of minutes, and they're extremely simplistic, but they're very powerful and he really was an incredible artist," Schwartz said. Lennon rocketed to international stardom as part of the iconic 1960s rock group, The Beatles. After their break-up, he continued to write and perform songs, such as "Imagine," his prayer for worldwide peace. Lennon would have been 65 on Sunday, October 9. He died on December 8, 1980 when he was shot outside his New York apartment.

ITN Source | October 15, 2005

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