Art in a Corner: Stars including Elvis Costello and Brian Wilson follow Paul in paint…

Art in a Corner: Stars including Elvis Costello and Brian Wilson follow Paul in paint…

ART IN A CORNER is a charity art project inspired by ‘Images of a Woman’, the only collective painting ever made by The Beatles, painted in Japan in 1966.

To mark the 50th anniversary of this remarkable artwork, social enterprise Eazl has invited some of the world’s biggest bands and solo artists to follow in The Beatles’ footsteps to create their own ‘Images of…’ paintings. As his own contribution to the project, Paul has personally signed two rare Terry O’Neill photographs of The Beatles.

Fans will be able to see the paintings and related Beatles photographs in two London exhibitions, at Cube Gallery, Marylebone (17-22 November) and White Conduit Projects, Islington (24 November to 11 December). Project artwork can also currently be seen in the windows of Gibson Brands on Eastcastle Street, W1.

The 2016 artists:

Brian Wilson painting his corner for ART IN A CORNER, during the 2016 ‘Pet Sounds’ 50th anniversary world tour

Artists who have created paintings for ART IN A CORNER include: Elvis Costello; Brian Wilson and Band (with special guests Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin); The Pretty Things, John Illsley (Dire Straits), Florence Welch (Florence + the Machine), The Libertines and Circa Waves.

All received special art kits - provided by Cass Art - with materials matching those used by The Beatles in 1966 - and all have created expansive, 30x40” paintings, the same size a_s '_Images of a Woman'. The participants have even signed their names in a circle in the centre of their paintings, just like The Beatles did 50 years ago.

The ART IN A CORNER Auction:

The ART IN A CORNER paintings will be sold via online auction house Paddle8 from 17th November to 2nd December, with the proceeds going to Children and the Arts and Youth Music, two national charities who together transform the lives of over 85,000 children and young people each year.

‘Images of a Woman’ (1966):

'Images of a Woman' (Credit: Photo by Robert Whitaker)

Painted in Japan in 1966, while the band were on lockdown in the Tokyo Hilton, the process of making ‘Images of a Woman’ was captured in an amazing series of photographs by Robert Whitaker. The Beatles’ official photographer at the time, Whitaker enjoyed intimate access throughout what would prove to be their last ever tour. A selection of limited edition Whitaker prints will be on show in the ART IN A CORNER exhibitions and will be included in the Paddle8 auction.

Paul McCartney - Terry O’Neill co-signed prints:

'The Beatles backyard, London’ (1963) by Terry O’Neill, co-signed by Paul McCartney and Terry O’Neill

As an extra special addition to ART IN A CORNER, Paul has added his signature to two B&W prints of the Terry O’Neill photograph ‘The Beatles backyard, London’, taken in the backyard of Abbey Road Studios in 1963. The image was captured on one of O’Neill’s first ever professional assignments, with The Beatles an up-and-coming band at the time. Now regarded as one of the most iconic shots of the Fab Four, it was the first photograph of a pop group ever to appear on the front cover of a British national newspaper.

Used as a banner image for ART IN A CORNER, Paul and Terry have co-signed the two prints of ‘The Beatles backyard’, to be released as a unique, super limited edition of two. These ultra rare, highly collectable artworks - hand-signed by Paul and one Britain’s most revered photographers - are available to buy now for £10,000 each, with 50% of the proceeds going to Children & the Arts and Youth Music. For more information, please email info@eazl.co.uk

What’s in a Name?

Jann Haworth - the co-creator of the ’Sgt. Pepper…’ album cover - making her ART IN A CORNER painting with daughters Daisy and Liberty Blake and friends

And the reason the project is called ART IN A CORNER? Well, Paul, John, George and Ringo each took a corner of the canvas to paint in. Their individual contributions are each clearly defined, but the results come together to form an immersive, psychedelic whole. Inspired by this legacy, the 2016 artists have produced some amazing compositions of their own.

The Exhibitions_:_

John Illsley's ART IN A CORNER painting - 'Art & Music – The Rhythm Of Life’

The 2016 ART IN A CORNER paintings will be on show at Cube Gallery from 17th to 22nd November. Address: 16 Crawford Street, Marylebone, London, W1H 1BS

Photographs of The Beatles making ’Images of a Woman’ will be displayed alongside other backstage images from the tour at White Conduit Projects from 24th November to 11th December. Address: 1 White Conduit Street, Islington, London, N1 9EL

A revolving selection of project artwork is shown in the windows of Gibson Brands. Address: 61-62 Eastcastle Street, London, W1W 8NQ

Visit the project website at: www.artinacorner.co.uk

Bid on the paintings at: https://paddle8.com/auction/artinacorner/