The Beatles Painted a $600K Piece of Art While Stuck in a Tokyo Hotel in 1966

The Beatles are among the most famous artists to ever live.

…this is not exactly groundbreaking news.

But, hardly anyone knows about the only collaborative painting they ever created.

Nowwwww we’re talkin’

With Images of a Woman coming to auction with a high est. of $600K, there’s never been a better time to dive into its weird, dangerous, and fascinating origins.

Here’s the story of Images of a Woman, the only painting created collaboratively by the Beatles 👇

In July 1966, just a month before the release of their seminal album “Revolver,” the group was in the midst of a tour of Germany, Japan, and the Philippines.

The 13 shows were the 1st leg of a world tour that ultimately culminated with their final U.S. tour.

As to be expected given the oft-told stories regarding the monotony felt by the band toward the end of their touring career (which would lead them to cease live shows completely), it was a grueling 2-show-per-day, unfulfilling stretch.

It also coincided with a changing of the tides, the transition from all-out Beatlemania to a more controversial point of political disagreement in the larger liberal v. conservative discourse.

Originally built for the Tokyo Olympics in ‘64, it was considered a sacred home for one of their culture’s most celebrated art forms.

This elevated the ire of the anti-Beatles sentiment in Tokyo by groups who felt this was an insult to traditional Japanese culture.

By the time the band disembarked the plane in Tokyo, death threats had already been made against the group.

Nonetheless, demand to see the band was massive during their stint in Tokyo, forcing them to add two more shows to their originally planned three-show visit.

They also required larger venues to accommodate the crowds, leading Brian Epstein to book the Budokan, traditionally reserved for martial arts, for shows.

While Tokyo Police installed extra safety precautions, the Beatles themselves were unaware of the threat, with Epstein determining it best to keep that information to himself for the time being.

The Fab Four then got to work, spending 3 nights in the Tokyo Hilton painting.

Each band member painted one corner of the 30x40 canvas.

Robert Whitaker, the same photographer responsible for their famous Butcher Cover Album, was present during the process & later remarked:

"Absolutely the best period I ever witnessed among the Beatles… [I] never saw them calmer, more contented than at this time... They'd stop, go and do a concert, and then it was 'Let's go back to the picture!'"

After they finished, they gave it to a charity auction, where it was purchased by Japanese Beatles fan club president, Tetsusaburo Shimoyama.

In recent years it’s sold multiple times, including for:

▪️ $191,000 in the mid ‘90s to an Art Dealer in Osaka

▪️ An unknown amount on eBay in 2002.

▪️ $155,250 at Philip Weiss Auctions in 2012

Now, it’s coming to Christie’s with a high est. of $600,000.