RECENT FIND!

Classic Vintage Beatle Portraits

by Nicholas Volpe

NEMS circa 1964

Recently added to Preferred Graphics Expanding Vintage Archive. A great addition to my large Beatle Collection, the original painted portraits were just put up for auction with a minimum bid of (1) One Million Dollars for all four!

These were published and sold during "The Beatles" visit to L.A. to play at Dodger Stadium in the early sixties. To find this portrait series that are flawless and in prime condition is a rare achievement!

Volpe also painted portraits for big stars in Hollywood and the L.A. Dodgers. I had a set of his L.A.Dodger tumblers that were given away at Union 76 stationswhen I was a kid! Once I saw these Beatle prints, I went for them. I would recognize that classic style anywhere. • theFunk

For more info please read below.

The Beatles first sat for Nicholas Volpe in 1964 at New York's Waldorf Astoria. These portraits were not finished at the first sitting, and Volpe's next session with the Beatles took place in Las Vegas after their historic appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. It was after the Las Vegas sitting that the paintings were completed by the artist.

The current owner of the paintings resides in southern California, and has a plaque that reads: "These original paintings of the Beatles are the work of Nicholas Volpe, world renowned artist, who was commissioned to paint such great personalities as John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Frank Sinatra."

On the morning of December 8, 1980, the day that John Lennon would be assassinated by Mark David Chapman, the painting of John Lennon inexplicably fell from the wall and landed on the floor. The artist himself, Nicholas Volpe, repaired the painting soon afterward.

That quite a bit of showmanship don't cha think?