The Only Way To Fly Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 Does anyone know what happened to the painting after it was used for the cover of Zeppelin IV? I've heard that Plant picked up the painting in Bath, but was just wondering what ever happened to it, who has it, & if there have been any photo's of it outside of the album's cover? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Only Way To Fly Posted June 9, 2012 Author Share Posted June 9, 2012 sorry, not that you needed a reminder of what it looked like, but here it is anyway. thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 I've heard that Plant picked up the painting in Bath According to Jimmy, he and Robert found the image strictly by chance: "I used to spend a lot of time going to junk shops looking for things that other people might have missed. Robert was on a search with me one time, and we went to this place in Reading (not far from Jimmy's boathouse in Pangbourne) where things were just piled up on one another. Robert found the picture of the old man with the sticks and suggested that we work it into our cover somehow. So we decided to contrast the modern skyscraper on the back with the old man with the sticks - you see the destruction of the old, and the new coming forward." Personally I'm not convinced that story is true. I still suspect Jimmy may have commissioned an artist to paint it - if he did not paint it himself - just as he did for the inside album cover art. The figure on the cover bears a striking resemblance to a preeminent occult figure, George Pickingill. "The cover was supposed to be something that was for other people to savour rather than for me to actually spell everything out, which would make the whole thing rather disappointing on that level of your own personal adventure into the music." -- Jimmy Page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazedjeffy Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Pamela Colman Smith also worked as a book illustrator but her other work is overshadowed completely by the popularity of the Rider-Waite cards. Her design for The Hermit was famously borrowed by Crowley obsessive Jimmy Page in 1971 for an inner sleeve illustration, View in Half or Varying Light by Barrington Colby, for Led Zeppelin IV. http://www.johncoulthart.com/feuilleton/2009/07/11/the-art-of-pamela-colman-smith-1878%E2%80%931951/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boleskine Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 I would also love to know what happened to it. It's weird that no one ever came forward to claim they produced the painting or knew who did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pagefan55 Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 I also suspect that Page commissioned an artist to paint it, if he didn't paint it himself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BonzoBonham Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 I read recently that Robert has it, wish I could remember where, but an internet search should turn it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Duck Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 According to Jimmy, he and Robert found the image strictly by chance: "I used to spend a lot of time going to junk shops looking for things that other people might have missed. Robert was on a search with me one time, and we went to this place in Reading (not far from Jimmy's boathouse in Pangbourne) where things were just piled up on one another. Robert found the picture of the old man with the sticks and suggested that we work it into our cover somehow. So we decided to contrast the modern skyscraper on the back with the old man with the sticks - you see the destruction of the old, and the new coming forward." Personally I'm not convinced that story is true. I still suspect Jimmy may have commissioned an artist to paint it - if he did not paint it himself - just as he did for the inside album cover art. The figure on the cover bears a striking resemblance to a preeminent occult figure, George Pickingill."The cover was supposed to be something that was for other people to savour rather than for me to actually spell everything out, which would make the whole thing rather disappointing on that level of your own personal adventure into the music." -- Jimmy Page You may be right. But this begs the question: Why would Page lie about something so innocuous? Most bands commissioned artists to design their album covers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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