April 21, 2018

John Lennon didn't depict himself as Hitler.

I'm reading "Portraits by John Lennon depicting himself as Hitler going for $54K" (NY Post), which speaks of a "crude sketch" — from Lennon's art college days — that "shows Lennon on a podium with his hand raised in a Nazi salute and the words 'Heil John' repeated several times, as if being chanted by an audience below."

I had to look elsewhere to find the image:



That's not John as Hitler. That's John as John, getting the response from the crowd that Hitler got. Perhaps he simply longed for vast and unquestioning admiration.

I see that John wanted Hitler as one of the faces on the Sgt. Pepper album cover.

17 comments:

buwaya said...

Not an ideal student for art college then?

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

I don't know, someone just go $54,000 for one of his crude drawings.

Ralph L said...

Hitler usually kept his hand up and back to receive the forward thrusts of the Germans' arms.

Achilles said...

Imagine is more the International Socialist theme song.

Ralph L said...

$54k is the asking price. Let's wait to see how much someone is foolish enough to pay for it.

mockturtle said...

It wouldn't surprise me in the least to find that Lennon [but not Lenin] had a secret fascination with Hitler.

Etienne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kassaar said...

Read Lennon’s early satire - In His Own Write (1964), A Spaniard in the Works (1965) - and you’ll see that this is satire too. His “spiritual” (Bhagwan) and political (Revolution, Imagine) grandstanding after 1966 was just a way to sell more albums.

D. said...

Certain (((people))) are not amused oh dear.

Ann Althouse said...

I predict it will sell for more.

Ralph L said...

Who's selling it and do they have the provenance?

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

My favorite Lennon tune.

Wince said...

First it was Jesus, now we're hearing it was Hitler before that?

Fernandinande said...

A portraits ... is being sold for $54,000.

So the article's headline is wrong: there's one portrait.

And the article's content is wrong: it sold for about $12,000, not $54,000:

Aproximadamente US $11,919.55

It's getting so you can't even trust the fake news any more.

chuck said...

Hitler was a better artist but not so good at music. "Hitler had dreams of playing a musical instrument. He had short but unsuccessful lessons in piano and violin, and also dabbled in the flute and harmonica. In the end he settled for whistling, which he did frequently". So, sort of the anti-Lennon. Imagine ... if he had had musical talent.

Ken B said...

Anything that discredits John Lennon is A-OK.

Joe said...

But Lennon DID depict himself as Hitler. It may have been as satire, but he definitely did portray himself as Hitler.