A self-portrait of the late Beatles singer-songwriter John Lennon is being sold for $54,000 at an auction on the site Moments in Time.
While this news will not turn heads because rare Beatles memorabilia always get sold at outrageous price tags, this sketch by Lennon might raise eyebrows. The "Imagine" singer drew the self-portrait while attending the Liverpool College of Art in the late '50s.
John Lennon As Adolf Hitler
The sketch is part of a larger sketchbook that also uses the images of other Beatles member with Nazi iconography.
The self-portrait in question sees Lennon standing in a balcony with his right arm raised while the crowd below him chants, "Heil John."
Lennon attended the Liverpool College of Art in 1957.
"He drew these when he was a college student, and the fact that he even thought of depicting himself as Hitler is weird," said Moments in Time which arranged the auction. "Original Lennon drawings are very desirable and they are ultra rare."
Another doodle depicts the Third Reich Nuremberg eagle perched on a structure that has a "JAL," Lennon's initials, as an insignia.
Lennon created the Nazi-inspired sketches a decade before he released his anti-war anthem "Give Peace A Chance."
Moments in Time, in 2010, also auctioned a copy of Double Fantasy album which was signed by the music icon for Mark David Chapman prior to his assassination. The site also sells other controversial items including the original Schindler's List and the vehicles used to murder Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G.
Controversial Choices
Another news outlet, Spin, mentioned that this is not the first time that the British singer included references to Nazi Germany in his art. Back in the '60s, when the Beatles were shooting the cover for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club, Lennon suggested the inclusion of an image of Adolf Hitler in the wax models.
The cover art for the album featured images of the Fab Four in marching band outfits surrounded by several recognizable personalities such as Edgar Allan Poe, Carl Jung, Fred Astaire, Bob Dylan, Aldous Huxley, Dylan Thomas, Marilyn Monroe, and Karl Marx.
Sir Peter Blake, the artist behind the iconic cover art, confirmed that a cardboard cutout of Hitler was, in fact, in the room when the image was shot. However, they ultimately decided not to include the Fuhrer in fear that it might create controversy.
They also considered images of Jesus Christ and Mahatma Gandhi for the shot.
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