
Claire Tole-Moir
Head of Department
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Head of Department
Provenance: From The Collection of Tom Maschler
The accompanying letter from Tom Maschler, publisher and writer and former head of Jonathan Cape, explains how he first saw John Lennon's drawings and how struck he was by them, I instantly found the writings and doodles extraordinarily witty and captivating...When I finally met John a few weeks later he was surprised by my interest in his work and told me that he had only done it for his amusement. I found it difficult to persuade John that I really loved what he had done and that I was convinced he could produce a book I would want to publish but in the end he succumbed. This sketch has been treasured my Tom Maschler since it was given to him by John following their collaboration on his two critically acclaimed books 'In His Own Write' (1964) and 'A Spaniard In The Works' (1965).
Maschler did not include this particular sketch in his Single Owner Sotheby's sale John Lennon "You Might Well Arsk, held in June 2014, as he was too fond to part with it at that time. He thinks it is: an exceptionally fine example of John's work...I especially love John's zany style, strong composition and the way that this piece verges on the surreal. John Lennon's drawings and doodles are now acknowledged for their creativity and draftsmanship and appear in major museums and private art collections.