“Bares for Rares”
Kinky drawing by John Lennon makes the dealers crazy
A drawing by John Lennon causes a bidding war on “Bares for Rares”
© ZDF
Fierce bidding battle for “Bares for Rares”: All dealers took part in the auction of a drawing by John Lennon. Much to the delight of the seller – who now wants to buy a picture without genitals.
The picture that Petra Schindler brought to “Bares für Rares” is a very special one. Not only because of the draftsman: It comes from none other than the former Beatle John Lennon. It is also the explicit representation of a couple – Lennon himself and his wife Yoko Ono.
And that is the reason why the fashion editor from Düsseldorf wants to part with it: “I would rather hang art on my wall without genitals,” says the 52-year-old.
Detlev Kümmel explains the background to the picture. It was created in 1969 while on honeymoon at the Hilton Amsterdam. Lennon made a total of 14 drawings and gave them to his wife Yoko Ono. They represent the wedding night and the honeymoon.
John Lennon and Yoko Ono continued to provoke
The 14 originals were exhibited in London a short time later, but they didn’t hang long: after two days, the police confiscated eight of the images. Reason: You were too immoral, says the expert. This also included the drawing at hand, number 3.
In order to provoke, Lennon and Ono created an edition folder from the drawings in 1970. “Bag One” contained all 14 drawings as lithographs. In a limited edition: only 300 pieces were produced, all signed by John Lennon.
The seller would like to have 1000 euros for it. But Detlev Kümmel gives hope for more: he thinks 1200 to 1400 euros are possible.
Waldi starts with 80 euros
In the dealership’s room, the picture met with exceptionally great interest: “This is the man. This is the woman. And that is not his finger,” says Walter “Waldi” Lehnertz, explaining the explicit content.
Not only because of this, all five dealers present are bidding. Waldi starts with the usual 80 euros for the picture – “and 200 for the frame”. However, the sum quickly becomes four-digit. In the end, Elke Velten-Tönnies was awarded the contract: she bought the picture for a full 2000 euros.
Not a bad buzzer that saleswoman Petra Schindler wants to reinvest right away: “With the money I will buy another beautiful picture for the wall – without the genitals.”
source: “Bares for Rares” in the ZDF media library