John Lennon
Limited Edition Lithographs and Serigraphs
Artist Information:
Lennon, by Bob Gruen
In many ways, John Lennon was truly a renaissance man whose insights and perspective helped shape the sensibility of the contemporary mind.
Born John Winston Lennon on October 9, 1940 in Liverpool, England, he died tragically on December 8, 1980. He married Yoko Ono at Gibraltar on March 20, 1969. On March 26, 1969 John and Yoko commenced their famous bed-in for peace at the Amsterdam Hilton.
While music will be remembered as his most popular art form, he loved both literature and visual art, studying at Liverpool Art Institute from 1957–1960. He penned and illustrated three books: In His Own Write, A Spaniard in the Works, and Skywriting by Word of Mouth.
As early as 1968, John began moving toward a return to visual art. He was primarily interested in drawing and favored the creative loose sketch, working in pen and ink. In 1969, as a wedding gift for Yoko, John drew the “Bag One Portfolio,” a chronicle of their wedding ceremony, honeymoon and their plea for world peace, the Bed-In. The suite also contained erotic sketches. The “Bag One” series was first published and exhibited in January 1970 at the London Arts Gallery. On the second day, the exhibition was closed by Scotland Yard and the erotic lithographs confiscated.
During 1986, Yoko Ono Lennon decided to share John’s artistic genius with the public by publishing the first in a series of prints entitled, “This Is My Story Both Humble and True,” followed with “Bag One Continued…,” “Dakota Days,” “Karuizawa Series,” and “ai: Japan Through John Lennon’s Eyes.” These works are a commentary on John’s everyday life, his wife, Yoko, and their son, Sean. The drawings are whimsical yet poetic, loving portraits of their years together. Drawn by one of the most important cultural figures of our time, these illustrations celebrate human love and communication — two themes at the heart of John Lennon’s contribution to the art of the twentieth century.
The “Bag One Portfolio” is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Please check MoMA’s schedule for opportunities to view the collection. The graphic collection has traveled throughout the U.S., England, Spain, Italy, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Hong Kong and Manila.