Sure, you’ve heard “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” but have you SEEN it?
The song, of course, is one of 73 that John Lennon wrote for The Beatles, but it’s also a drawing, also by Lennon, showing a bespectacled figure in an A-line dress floating above a field.
That drawing, along with dozens of others by John Lennon, are now on display and available for sale at Ocean Blue Galleries, 109 Duval St., Key West. Celebrations of the never-before-released, limited edition prints by John Lennon will take place at the gallery Friday and Saturday, July 5 and 6, from 2 to 7 p.m.
“I’m always shocked by how many people, including some diehard Beatles fans, don’t know about the art component to John Lennon’s career,” said Daniel Crosy, the Los Angeles-based art representative who has been working with Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono, for the past 15 years, releasing Lennon’s drawings and handwritten lyric sheets to the art-, music- and peace-loving public.
“Yoko had been releasing some of John’s prints at pop-up galleries and art shows for years, but recently wanted my help in bringing it to the fine art world, and Ocean Blue Galleries is a perfect fit,” said Crosby, who had worked previously with the gallery owners Amber and Jay Shaffer. “The estate of John Lennon has a connection with Key West given its legendary open-mindedness and welcoming atmosphere. And listen, let’s be honest, John Lennon knew how to get his party on, too.”
Some of the 50 to 60 works now available in Key West have never been seen before. Many of the limited-edition prints are of John’s original black-and-white drawings, while others have been colorized.
Art was a passion for Lennon even before the Beatles made their first appearance on stage. Lennon had studied at the Liverpool Art Institute from 1957-60, Crosby said.
As a wedding gift to Yoko, John started drawing their life together — their travels, their love, their peace activism and their son, Sean Ono Lennon, the younger brother of John’s first son, Julian Lennon.
“John Lennon became the first stay-at-home dad when Sean was born in 1975, and John taught him the alphabet by drawing, say, C is for Cat, with a picture of a cat,” Crosby said, adding that Lennon had filled the family’s Manhattan apartment at the Dakota with his drawings.
But the artist and activist soured a bit on displaying his artwork once two of his shows — in Chicago and London — were raided by authorities who claimed the subject matter — some nude drawings and the couple’s famous Bed-In for Peace — was pornographic.
“Aside from the Beatles’ story and their music still resonating today, the artwork of John Lennon is his story as a human, a husband, a father, an activist, and it’s so compelling,” Crosby said.
Lennon died Dec. 8, 1980, when he was shot by Mark Chapman in front of the Lennons’ home at the Dakota.
His life was unfinished, but fortunately many of his drawings were not, and are now being shared with the world.
