Beatles unused Jim Dine album artwork for sale

Graphics for an album The Beatles never made, created by acclaimed Pop artist Jim Dine and commissioned by Capitol Records in 1968, is scheduled for auction on 17 November in Los Angeles.

The five works called Untitled (John, Paul, George, Ringo and The Beatles) are graphite and watercolor on vellum and depict group and individual toothbrushes labeled for each member of the iconic band.

Each item is signed and dated 'Jim Dine 1968' in the lower left corner, according to the auction house of Bonhams & Butterfields, which expects to fetch between $25,000 - $35,000 when the collection goes under the hammer.

The illustrations (each approximately 17 inches by 14 inches) were destined for an album by The Beatles, but the project was shelved when the group left Capitol and formed the Apple Records label.

The unused art for the never-recorded album wound up in the private collection of former Capitol Records President Sal Iannucci and his wife Aileen.

Sharon Goodman Squires, a specialist at Bonhams, described the works as "a lovely representation of how art and music can go together."

The auction will be simulcast. For more information, contact Bonhams & Butterfields.

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