Sir Peter Blake’s original 1967 collage for the insert for The Beatle’s Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. (Click on image to enlarge).
The original 1967 Sgt. Pepper collage by Sir Peter Blake for The Beatles album will feature at Sotheby’s Post War British Art sale in London on November 13. The image is familar to millions of fans. The Beatle’s legendary Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is one of the best-selling albums of all time and a landmark in musical history.
James Rawlin, Sotheby’s Senior Specialist, Modern British Paintings, commented: “Sir Peter Blake’s collage is a tangible slice of rock history. Sgt Pepper had a huge impact on the cultural landscape. It was the first concept album, when music, story, image and studio expertise all came together. In this work we witness the creation of the eponymous Sgt Pepper himself, with his familiar accoutrements of moustache and sergeant’s stripes, originally intended for fans to cut out and keep.”
Peter Blake worked closely with Paul McCartney and John Lennon to create the image. The cover photograph featured The Beatles surrounded by an elaborately constructed set of cut out figures of famous faces. The inset, created as a collage, depicted the celebrated Sergeant. The work is from the collection of the late architect Colin St. John “Sandy” Wilson (1922-2007). It is estimated at £50,000-80,000.