Led Zep Art Collection Up For Auction

[kenog]

I told in my first posting on this site about the sad passing of Jimmy's personal assistant, Rick Hobbs earlier this year. Here is an article regarding the auctioning of some of Mr Hobbs' personal effects. 'Tucked inside Rick's Led Zeppelin LP covers, there were found four pencil sketches by the great Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais, believed to be gifts from the band for his devoted service.'

There is also interesting detail about his work for, and relationship with, the band:-

http://www.thisisthe...p_for_auction/.

They’re expected to fetch £4,000 at an auction on Saturday, August 14. (Source: Classic Rock Magazine website)

[Alice75]

I told in my first posting on this site about the sad passing of Jimmy's personal assistant, Rick Hobbs earlier this year. Here is an article regarding the auctioning of some of Mr Hobbs' personal effects. 'Tucked inside Rick's Led Zeppelin LP covers, there were found four pencil sketches by the great Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais, believed to be gifts from the band for his devoted service.'

There is also interesting detail about his work for, and relationship with, the band:-

http://www.thisisthe...p_for_auction/.

They’re expected to fetch £4,000 at an auction on Saturday, August 14. (Source: Classic Rock Magazine website)

Thank you for introducing a great article.

Mr.Rick Hobbs passed away on the 25th Jan 2010 aged 81yrs after a long battle with parkinsons.

Mr.Hobbs was so much loved and trusted by Jimmy and his family members(especially Charlotte and Scarlet).

They say this way in Ricky Hobbs book of condolence on facebook.

Scarlet says 'I will miss you very much. All my memories of you will live on forever. You helped make me the person I am today. I will never forget xxx'.

Charlotte says 'Thinking of you always our loyal friend. Thinking of all the laughs and the tears amidst all the dramas.....the doggies.....the flowers .....the school pickups. Your great devotion to our family......'.

Mr.Hobbs never had leaked anything about Led Zep,Jimmy and his family. I understand how Jimmy trusted him.

[PlanetPage]

...tks Kenog, Alice75, excellent read, commentary herein does reflect what Jimmy has said publicly about not being present as much in his domestic life....I don't recall a photo ever being produced/posted of this Beloved Associate in the Entourage thread...

[SteveAJones]

...tks Kenog, Alice75, excellent read, commentary herein does reflect what Jimmy has said publicly about not being present as much in his domestic life....I don't recall a photo ever being produced/posted of this Beloved Associate in the Entourage thread...

I had posted one of a caretaker seated outside Plumpton Place circa Autumn 1974 and it's possible it is Mr. Hobbs (hoping one of his friends/family will confirm).

Other personal photographs of Mr. Hobbs within my archive unfortunately cannot be shared here.

[PlanetPage]

I had posted one of a caretaker seated outside Plumpton Place circa Autumn 1974 and it's possible it is Mr. Hobbs (hoping one of his friends/family will confirm).

Other personal photographs of Mr. Hobbs within my archive unfortunately cannot be shared here.

...thanks for the update, I have seen those stunning photos and the picture of the Caretaker, I cannot locate it (always read what you post!), I think The caretaker is wearing a pinkish shirt/relaxed pose, river bank, very beautiful photo..

and thanks for conveying info. on the private collection, understood...

[kenog]

Thanks PlanetPage and Alice 75. I thought it was commendable that Mr Hobbs didn't utter a word about any of the band's private business. It is quite a rare thing nowadays. There are photographs of Mr Hobbs on both his own page, and his condolence page, on a social networking site, but I don't think it is appropriate for me to post them here.

[Knebby]

Thanks PlanetPage and Alice 75. I thought it was commendable that Mr Hobbs didn't utter a word about any of the band's private business. It is quite a rare thing nowadays. There are photographs of Mr Hobbs on both his own page, and his condolence page, on a social networking site, but I don't think it is appropriate for me to post them here.

I agree - I also don't think it is appropriate to quote messages from there on this site (aside from the issue raised here re the sale, which is obviously a public sale and really interesting, thanks for posting ).

What a wonderful gift , eh? A bit of original Millais would have gone down well with me too

*edited in retrospect

[Alice75]

I agree - I also don't think it is appropriate to quote messages from there on this site (aside from the issue raised here re the sale, which is obviously a public sale and really interesting, thanks for posting ).

What a wonderful gift , eh? A bit of original Millais would have gone down well with me too

*edited in retrospect

Thanks for a kind advice Though I wanted you to overlook it

But everybody can see that site.

I basically trust members of this LZ official site.

I've only wanted Jimmy's fans to know that he has a really loyal friend and a lovely family.

[PlanetPage]

Thanks for a kind advice Though I wanted you to overlook it

But everybody can see that site.

I basically trust members of this LZ official site.

I've only wanted Jimmy's fans to know that he has a really loyal friend and a lovely family.

..Alice75, I enjoy your contributions....you had sincere intent and it is understood by me...I don't know why that information was posted to begin with at the other site, it shouldn't, since Privacy is the issue...whatever...I have no intention to visit there, wherever...it was just a simple question, take care...I guess we should not ask anything here

[sam_webmaster]

Sketches withdrawn from sale in Led Zeppelin 'dispute'

Four sketches by a famous Victorian artist found tucked inside some Led Zeppelin records were withdrawn from sale by a Somerset woman after it emerged they may belong to the band's guitarist Jimmy Page.

The pictures, by Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais, were due to be sold on Saturday at Chilcotts Auctioneers in Devon.

They were found inside records owned by Rick Hobbs, who worked for Page and the band for many years before his death in January.

Sue Cook, who cared for Hobbs before his death, put them up for auction but withdrew them after contact from the band's representatives, a spokeswoman for the auction house said.

Elizabeth Chilcott said: "The band are not accusing the man of having stolen them. It's just a dispute over ownership. These were withdrawn because the vendor was in discussion with Led Zeppelin."

The sketches, which were made when Millais was 14, were expected to fetch around £4,000.

Mrs Cook, 46, said Mr Hobbs worked as Page's "right-hand man".

She told The Times: "He was his valet, PA and chauffeur because Jimmy never learned to drive. Even in his 70s, Rick would get a phone call, jump in his car and drive up to London to sort something out for him."

Led Zeppelin were formed out of the ashes of 1960s blues band The Yardbirds and became international stars in the 1970s.

Page is a well-known art enthusiast. In 1972, he bought a London home designed by Victorian artist and architect William Burges.

Copyright © Press Association Ltd. 2010, All Rights Reserved.

http://www.peterboro...ispute_1_802512

[SteveAJones]

Jimmy Page 'dispute' over sketches

Belfast Telegraph

Monday, 16 August 2010

Four sketches by a famous Victorian artist found tucked inside some Led Zeppelin records have been withdrawn from sale after it emerged they may belong to the band's guitarist Jimmy Page.

The pictures, by Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais, were due to be sold on Saturday at Chilcotts Auctioneers in Devon.

They were found inside records owned by Rick Hobbs, who worked for Page and the band for many years before his death in January.

Sue Cook, who cared for Hobbs before his death, put them up for auction but withdrew them after contact from the band's representatives, a spokeswoman for the auction house said.

Elizabeth Chilcott said: "The band are not accusing the man of having stolen them. It's just a dispute over ownership.

"Most things go forward and get sold but sometimes there is a dispute over ownership. But these were withdrawn because the vendor was in discussion with Led Zeppelin."

The sketches, which were made when Millais was 14, were expected to fetch around £4,000.

Mrs Cook, 46, from Somerset, said Mr Hobbs worked as Page's "right-hand man".

She told The Times: "He was his valet, PA and chauffeur because Jimmy never learned to drive. Even in his 70s, Rick would get a phone call, jump in his car and drive up to London to sort something out for him."

Page is a well-known art enthusiast. In 1972, he bought a London home designed by Victorian artist and architect William Burges.

http://www.belfastte...3066.html?r=RSS

[SteveAJones]

Led Zeppelin mystery as halt is brought to sale of Millais sketches found inside album covers

Simon de Bruxelles

The Australian (From The Times)

August 16, 2010

IT was one of the more unusual art finds: four sketches by Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais tucked inside covers of Led Zeppelin LPs.

What brought the worlds of rock and fine art even closer was the fact the albums belonged to Rick Hobbs, chauffeur and aide of Jimmy Page, one of the band's founders and a passionate collector of Victorian art.

They were discovered by Sue Cook, who cared for Mr Hobbs before his death at the age of 81. At first she did not realise the significance of the find but several months after their discovery decided to have them valued.

But the sketches, made when Millais was 14, were withdrawn from sale at the last minute on Saturday because of concerns about how Mr Hobbs came to have them.

Before the sale, Duncan Chilcott, the auctioneer, had speculated that Jimmy Page may have given them to Mr Hobbs as a reward for his devoted service. He said: "Jimmy Page is known to be a passionate collector of Victorian art and it is tempting to believe the drawings were given to Rick by him. This is supported perhaps by the fact that Rick chose to protect them by slipping them inside Led Zeppelin LP covers. As a result, they are in excellent condition and not faded."

Yesterday he was less forthcoming. He said he did not know whether Mrs Cook had withdrawn them because of an intervention by Mr Page.

Members of the supergroup and their families attended Mr Hobbs' woodland burial after his death in January. He had known Mr Page for 40 years and had been a trusted member of the Led Zeppelin "family".

Mrs Cook recalled that he carried on working for Mr Page well into his 70s. Mrs Cook, 46, from Somerset, said: "Rick was a chauffeur for a London company and met the band when they hired him.

"They hit it off right from the start and he became Jimmy Page's right-hand man. He was his valet, PA and chauffeur because Jimmy never learned to drive. Even in his 70s, Rick would get a phone call, jump in his car and drive up to London to sort something out for him.

"Rick was highly trusted by the group. He used to ferry their children about - they knew they would be safe ."

Millais made the sketches in 1843 when he was a precocious student at the Royal Academy.

At least two were inspired by poems by Robert Burns. One is a Venetian scene with a gondolier serenading a lady at a window. Beneath is a verse from Farewell Thou Stream that reads: "The music of thy voice I heard/Nor wist while it enslav'd me!/I saw thine eyes, yet nothing fear'd/Till fears no more had sav'd me!"

http://www.theaustra...from=public_rss

[kenog]

Here is a Times UK article written after the sale was withdrawn. I have included it here because, although it covers rockers' art acquisitions in general, it talks about Jimmy as a collector.

A rocker's best friend is his dealer

The Times (London); Aug 17, 2010; Stephen Dalton; p. 51 Full Text:

(Copyright © Times Newspapers Limited 2010)

The long love affair between rock music and visual art has taken a bizarre twist with news that the Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page may have given four early sketches by the Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais to his late aide and chauffeur, Rick Hobbs. Now the sketches have been withdrawn from auction at late notice, possibly after Page himself intervened -- only deepening the mystery.

It would come as no great surprise if Page turns out to be the source of the Millais sketches. The rocker has long been known as a cultured man of letters and keen collector of Victoriana. In addition, Millais himself was something of a rock-star figure in the 19th-century art scene, partly for his groundbreaking treatment of social and religious subjects, but chiefly for his adulterous love affair with the critic John Ruskin's wife Effie, whom he later married.

More striking is just how prominent the relationship between pop fame and art has become since Page's stadium rocking heyday, with galleries and auction houses wooing the pop pound in these lean economic times. The salerooms of London and New York no longer attract just the mega-rich Old Masters of rock but a younger generation of pop performers including Kylie Minogue, Geri Halliwell, Alison Goldfrapp, Matt Bellamy of Muse and more. Robbie Williams has reportedly bought several Warhols, while Noel and Liam Gallagher have snapped up silkscreen prints by the former Beatles favourite Peter Blake. America's royal couple of pop, Jay-Z and Beyonce, have also amassed a large private collection including works by Damien Hirst and Richard Prince.

Privately, some gallery owners and art-world insiders dismiss celebrity collectors as shallow dilettantes with more money than sense. But to write off these famous clients as philistines is to misunderstand the long kinship between rock and art, which have been engaged in a mutual exchange of glamour and gravitas ever since Tommy Steele bought his first Lowry. Given British pop's artschool tradition, from Page and his 1960s peers John Lennon and Pete Townshend, to Pulp and Franz Ferdinand, it makes sense that many musicians return to their first love when the royalty cheques start rolling in.

"There's no reason why one would hold them in any less regard because of what they do," says Sam Chatterton Dickson of the Haunch of Venison gallery in London. "One often finds rock stars have come from an art background -- Bryan Ferry famously went to art school. Brian Eno is a very highly educated and very erudite guy and is a visual artist himself."

Ferry is certainly one of British rock's most prominent collectors. The suave singer studied at Newcastle University under the Pop Art pioneer Richard Hamilton, and his band Roxy Music were something of a Pop Art statement themselves.Yet it was to an earlier chapter of art history that Ferry turned when he began making serious money in the mid 1970s.

In keeping with his impeccably dressed 1930s playboy image, Ferry favours British art from the high Modernist period, including Bloomsbury group associates Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant and Percy Wyndham Lewis. He also owns an extensive selection of Victorian portraits, including a Sickert. In Junethisyear,thedapper crooner exhibited his collection in London, but confessed he longer buys much art because "I've run out of walls."

Other prolific collectors include EltonJohn, who owns canvases byMagritte, Picasso, Warhol and more. He also has a work by the former Clash bassist Paul Simonon, Bacon & Egg, given to him by Lilly Allen. "I'm very into my art," said Allen at the time, "I wish I could paint but I'm rubbish."

Madonna collects modern and Surrealist art, paying $1 million in 1987 for Fernand Leger's Les Deux Bicyclettes.

She has since acquired about 300 pictures, including works by Picasso, Salvador Dali, Tamara de Lempicka, Man Ray, Cindy Sherman and two by Frida Kahlo. The singer's public obsession with Kahlo has been credited with boosting the profile of the proto-feminist Mexican icon -- and, by extension, the value of her own investment.

Perhaps a more surprising art lover is Lars Ulrich, the drummer with the thrash-metal titans Metallica. Partly because of his Danish roots, Ulrich was initially drawn to the CoBrA group, a neo-primitive collective who worked in Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam in the early 1950s. This led him to more contemporary work in a similar neo-Expressionist vein, notably a prized piece by Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Ulrich once compared the joy of contemplating his private collection to "hanging out backstage with Kid Rock". But when marriage and fatherhood loomed, the drummer fell out of love withart,selling three-quarters of his collection at Christie's in 2002 for a multimillion-pound payday. "Collecting is not about the trophy on the wall," he explained, "it is about the journey."

Many musicians are not just collectors but visual artists themselves. When not curating his personal gallery, which stretches from Rubens and Tintoretto to rising stars, David Bowie is a keen painter and board member of Modern Painters magazine. David Byrne straddles the line between multimedia artist and collector, and is in a relationship with the visual artist Cindy Sherman.

Bob Dylan, Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood, U2 singer Bono and former Stone Roses guitarist John Squire have all taken up the brushes. Brian Eno has long blurred the line between sound and vision, most recently in his audiovisual installation, 77 Million Paintings.

Some pop stars have graduated from collectors to patrons of the arts. In the 1970s, the Rolling Stones enlisted Andy Warhol to design their Sticky Fingers album cover. In the 1990s, when Britpop and the YBAs became bedfellows, Blur commissioned a video from Damien Hirst and an album cover from Julian Opie. Madonna and Nick Cave have both presented the Turner Prize, while Madge's most recent hits collection featured sleeve graphics by the street artist and Banksy protege Thierry Guetta. Christina Aguilera is also a fan of Banksy and British graffiti art, commissioning the London-based Dean "D*Face" Stockton to paint the cover for Bionic.

As in all romances, the relationship between pop and art has had its rocky patches. But much like Jimmy Page's fondness for the Pre-Raphaelites, it is grounded in a whole lotta love, too.

"Some gallery owners dismiss celebrity collectors as shallow dilettantes"

Credit: Stephen Dalton