PAUL ON THE RUN

www.ntnews.com.au
Bargain Beatle artwork left unsold
SARAH CRAWFORD | November 13th, 2011

A PRINT by John Lennon was one of more than 150 artworks to go under the hammer during a massive art auction held in Darwin at the weekend.
But Framed gallery owner Anne Phelan was surprised an array of Beatles' memorabilia did not sell on Friday night.
The print of a purple elephant was valued at $1650, but it was passed in after no one bid $800.
Yesterday, Ms Phelan's phone was ringing with bidders who realised they had missed out on a bargain on Friday night.
Jayne Bade, of Brinkin, who purchased five paintings by contemporary Australian artists, regretted not bidding.
"We bought too many by the time this came up," Ms Bade said.


John Lennon print hangs at auction. Picture: DANIEL HARTLEY-ALLEN

Julie O'Brien, of Coconut Grove, put in a bid yesterday after hesitating too long on Friday night and regretting that she didn't make an initial offer.

"It was up so quickly and it got passed in," she said.

The piece was one of a number of drawings Lennon made for his infant son, Sean. After his death, his wife Yoko Ono had them made into prints.

The purple elephant had been "lurking" in Ms Phelan's storeroom since she held an exhibition of Lennon's sketches in 2007.

"People were shocked there was a John Lennon on offer because few people knew he was an artist, which was always his first love," she said.

Ms Phelan sold about 140 pieces on Friday night, but some of the big names were not budging.

A painting by actor and comedian Barry Humphries was passed in after it did not get a bid above $2000. In Sydney, the man behind Dame Edna can sell his works for up to $30,000.

Ms Phelan expects more prints by Lennon before Christmas.