The second Biennial John Moores Exhibition opened at Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery on 17 November 1959. Among the exhibits was Summer Painting by Stuart Sutcliffe, an art school student and friend to John Lennon.
The painting was bought by John Moores himself for £65 when the show ended on this day. The sale was a coup for a nascent artist, and a considerable sum for the time. He was persuaded by Johnny and the Moondogs to buy a Höfner President bass guitar.
Stuart Sutcliffe was a friend of John’s from art college. Stuart had sold a painting for £65. So what do you do with £65? We all reminded him over a coffee: ‘Funny you should have got that amount, Stuart – it is very near the cost of a Höfner bass.’ He said, ‘No, I can’t just spend all that.’ It was a fortune in those days, like an inheritance. He said he had to buy canvases or paint. We said, ‘Stu, see reason, love. A Höfner, a big ace group… fame!’ He gave in and bought this big Höfner bass that dwarfed him. The trouble was he couldn’t play well. This was a bit of a drawback, but it looked good, so it wasn’t too much of a problem.
Page last updated: 21 February 2024
Has anyone seen this painting? The one Stu famously sold to John Moores, the proceeds from which he would use to buy the Hofner President? Thinking this painting ought to be higher profile.
Perhaps it is shown in a scene from the movie Backbeat.
I would like to see it myself,has I’ve had a painting by stuart for a while that i brought it from bonhams in london 1999 at lots road.
The painting by Stuart was called “Summer Painting”
One has to wonder by the dates what could have been if Stu had not died. What if Brian had not died, Julia, Mary, etc. Emeraldeyes