News-Antique.com - Jun 22,2007 - Beatles Memorabilia Auction July 3 Features Stuart Sutcliffe Original Art
ItsOnlyRockNRoll.com Beatles Auction July 3rd in Las Vegas features original Beatles bassist’s art, lyrics and paintings for sale for the first time anywhere, plus Beatles Memorabilia and Autographs.
Stuart Sutcliffe is commonly known as The Fifth Beatle, was John Lennon’s best friend, and he chose to put his career as an artist ahead of his career as a Beatle. He was born in 1940 in Scotland and died on April 10, 1962 in Hamburg Germany.
Stuart’s sister, Pauline inherited Stuart’s Estate in 1983 on the death of her mother, she has managed the estate ever since. Much of the art collection has been on exhibition around the world, from the Cleveland Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame to Japan. For the first time ever she is offering a selection of Stuart’s art work and memorabilia at the ItsOnlyRockNRoll.com Beatles Auction which is to take place at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas on July 3, 2007. Two major works of art, a 136 page sketchbook as well as hand-written Lyrics,Poems and letters will show the depth of Stuart Sutcliffe’s artistic talent.
Sutcliffe and Lennon were roommates at the Art College in Liverpool. Lennon credited Stuart with having a "marvelous art portfolio" at the age of fourteen and was recognized as a seriously talented painter who was one the "stars" of the school.
One of Sutcliffe's paintings was exhibited at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool as part of the John Moores exhibition from November 1959 until January 1960 John Moores purchased Sutcliffe's “The Summer Painting” at the private view the night before the exhibition openned to the public for £65, which was then equal to 6-7 weeks' wages for an average working man“The Summer Painting” is painted on board, and had to be cut into two pieces (because of its size) and hinged – it is on display today at The Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.
On the strength of this sale, John marched Stuart straight down to Hesseys and pursuaded him to purchase the Hoffner bass guitar and join his new rock and roll band, ”Johnny and the Moondogs/The Quarrymen”
Sutcliffe re-named the band, “The Beetles,” after the biker chick gang in the Marlon Brando movie, “The Wild Ones,” and was a spin on “The Crickets.” The band evolved into “The Silver Beetles” and John added his two-cents by changing the spelling to “The Beatles.”
The Beatles were booked into Hamburg, Germany in 1961, even though the band members were underage. In Hamburg, Stuart met Astrid Kirchherr, the photographer who took those early black & white iconic Beatles photographs, and together they created the hair style known as the Beatles “mop-top” look, made radical fashion statements and drove the iconic pop culture that still reverberates to this day –Stuart was the first to wear the famous collarless jacket.
Pete Best said Sutcliffe was usually “good-natured and animated in front of an audience” and Paul McCartney has said that Sutcliffe was “a
