George and Ringo portrait

Cool Britannia This painting was originally produced for an exhibition of work at the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation in Liverpool. George eventually died of throat cancer - which he admitted was caused by cigarette smoking. The background is dark and dramatic - Harrison's features are intentionally gaunt - almost caricature like. It is to some degree influenced - for want of a better word - by the giant billboard 'Marlborough' adverts of the 50's and 60's. "We're all Christ and we're all Hitler. We are trying to make Christ's message contemporary. We want Christ to win. What would he have done if he had advertisements, T.V., records, films and newspapers? The miracle today is communication. So let's use it." -John Lennon '69