Beatles, 1966 painting signed by the band sold for $1.7 million**

A 1966 painting of all four Beatles sold at auction at Christie’s in New York today for $1,744,000, more than four times its lowest estimate. The award during “The Exceptional Sale” ended with applause at Rockefeller Center after heated bidding among several bidders on the phone and in the hall. The final sum offered by a currently anonymous collector is one of the highest ever paid for a piece of Beatles memorabilia.

The abstract painting was painted during the Tokyo tour and is signed in the middle by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. This is an acrylic and watercolor painting on Japanese paper “Untitled” known as “Pictures of a Woman”. According to photographer Robert Whitaker, who documented the Beatles’ stay in the Japanese capital, the painting was completed in two nights in room 1005 of the Hilton Hotel in Tokyo. It is said that this presidential suite was a kind of opulent and luxurious prison where the Beatles spent most of the 100 hours in Japan from June 29 to July 3, 1966.

For nearly three years, The Beatles had inspired fantastic, in some cases dangerous, scenes of worship wherever they performed. The Japanese authorities decided to ensure their safety with a level of pride that, in the Beatles’ minds, bordered on fanaticism, attending to every minute detail of their schedule. The Beatles were transported from the hotel to the Budo Kan Hall, where they performed five concerts under ultra-fast security, risking absolutely nothing. Likewise, generous thought was given to ensuring that the Beatles would be comfortable and content in their luxurious hotel suite, so they wouldn’t want to go anywhere; although they then managed to make two short escapes. Paul took a glimpse of the Imperial Palace in the morning with Mal Evans and John ventured into some nearby streets with Neil Aspinall. But they actually stayed in the suite for almost 100 hours. The Beatles looked around for employment opportunities and found them, and they welcomed visitors, many of whom brought gifts, one of whom donated a set of high-quality art supplies used in the painting.

(by Paolo Martini)