A vibrant, rare and highly collectible limited-edition lithograph by Paul McCartney (British, b. 1942), one of the most influential cultural figures of the 20th century. Titled Beach Towels, the work is based on McCartney’s 1990 painting and reveals a lesser-known but important dimension of his creative life: his longstanding work as a visual artist. #5520
The composition presents an expressive, semi-abstract view of a beach, with broad areas of brilliant blue suggesting sky and water above a warm yellow and sand-colored foreground. A bold red beach towel anchors the center of the composition, accompanied by smaller gestural forms and a striped element to the right. The spontaneous brushwork, saturated color and simplified imagery give the work an energetic quality that feels both playful and distinctly personal.
McCartney began painting privately in earnest during the 1980s, encouraged in part by his friendships with established artists and by his lifelong interest in visual art. For many years he painted largely for his own enjoyment rather than for public exhibition. His paintings eventually became more widely known during the late 1990s, revealing a body of work characterized by vivid color, loose brushwork, portraiture, landscapes and imaginative abstract compositions.
Beach Towels is particularly appealing for the way it combines McCartney’s painterly abstraction with an immediately recognizable subject. Rather than rendering the seaside literally, McCartney reduces the scene to color, movement and a handful of visual symbols, creating an image that captures the sensation and memory of a day at the beach.
This example is hand signed in pencil by Paul McCartney at the lower right and numbered 65/200 at the lower left. The image additionally bears the inscription “P McCartney 90” within the composition at lower right, referencing the date of the original work.
The lithograph is beautifully presented in a substantial black frame with wide, professionally executed double white matting, which provides depth while allowing the strong colors of the image to remain the focal point. The overall framed dimensions are approximately 37 inches wide by 39 inches high, making it a substantial and highly decorative wall piece.
An unusual opportunity to acquire a signed work of visual art by Paul McCartney...
Category
Late 20th Century Modern North American Prints