Painting of Michael on Ebay

[lovemj4everandever]

It sounds like the seller got the painting somewhat legitimately. My concern is that the photos to represent the painting  as for sale are not right. If I had a multimillion dollar painting I would certainly get great photos of the painting and not the janitor in the next room and the car window. See my point? Something fishy! Why through a car window?? For real? Everything has to be complicated.
But I'll watch the listing...
So many odd things going on  8-)

I LOVE you Michael!!!

There is definitely something fishy going on here.  Not just the seller account as I mentioned but I agree the pictures are odd.  Come to find out, they are prepublished photos.  The pictures on Ebay are from the huffingtonpost article dated 08/04/09 and the group of pictures at the huffingtonpost article also includes the one of Tohme standing in front of the picture.  Somehow we have to figure this out....  There has to be a reason why the Ebay listing consists of those old pictures that would lead us to the picture with Tohme, rather than taking a new set of photos for the Ebay listing.  This has got to be part of the puzzle somehow.  I'm a firm believer Michael is alive (like 1000000% firm believer).  I'm unshakable.  Here is the link to the huffingtonpost where the pictures were first published...

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Also, the Ebay listing says date of creation was 1990-1999?  That's odd - a 10 year span instead of a date?  And anyway, none of those dates would be correct.  The portrait was painted in 1984 and was signed by MJ.  The one on Ebay says it is not signed.  We need to get this figured out.....

[Zen]

WHAT is Tohme doing and what he looking at?  He is everywhere and if he is at this
automotive place looking at painting, then Jermaine certainly knows about it.
I find this more ODD than the way the painting was photographed.  It seems that
the automobile place in crowded so there was no other way to take picture from
a one point perspective.

[Christiana]

The guy selling the painting is not a photographer, so I don't find it odd that the photos are not professional, regardless of the presumed value of the painting. If he got the painting legitimately, it's likely that he has that painting locked up somewhere for security purposes. And since he is not a professional photographer, and clearly has no interest in hiring one, it's better that he not take photos of the painting--because they'd probably be crappy pictures. The ones there are very clear and show the painting from many angles, which is good...even if there are people in the pics that are distracting. And the flash is not good for the artwork anyway...which he would probably use if he took his own photos, because most people do not have the lighting or equipment to take professional quality photos, especially of large artworks.

If he didn't get the painting legitimately, then it shouldn't take long for that listing to be yanked off Ebay, and then I'm sure we'll be reading about it on TMZ or elsewhere. So I think the only odd thing about it is, did he acquire it legitimately? Seems likely he did.

[jessicakthx]

It sounds like the seller got the painting somewhat legitimately. My concern is that the photos to represent the painting  as for sale are not right. If I had a multimillion dollar painting I would certainly get great photos of the painting and not the janitor in the next room and the car window. See my point? Something fishy! Why through a car window?? For real? Everything has to be complicated.
But I'll watch the listing...
So many odd things going on  8-)

I LOVE you Michael!!!

There is definitely something fishy going on here.  Not just the seller account as I mentioned but I agree the pictures are odd.  Come to find out, they are prepublished photos.  The pictures on Ebay are from the huffingtonpost article dated 08/04/09 and the group of pictures at the huffingtonpost article also includes the one of Tohme standing in front of the picture.  Somehow we have to figure this out....  There has to be a reason why the Ebay listing consists of those old pictures that would lead us to the picture with Tohme, rather than taking a new set of photos for the Ebay listing.  This has got to be part of the puzzle somehow.  I'm a firm believer Michael is alive (like 1000000% firm believer).  I'm unshakable.  Here is the link to the huffingtonpost where the pictures were first published...

You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login


Also, the Ebay listing says date of creation was 1990-1999?  That's odd - a 10 year span instead of a date?  And anyway, none of those dates would be correct.  The portrait was painted in 1984 and was signed by MJ.  The one on Ebay says it is not signed.  We need to get this figured out.....

If I didn't think I'd get charges brought against me for having no intent to pay, I'd probably bid just to see where this all went...because something is not right here.  :?

[Butterfly J]

ummmm... just found that
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it say this painting is signed by the artist AND by Mj....why they say in ebay is not signed?

If it is a fake it would not be signed. But if it is a faKe they could not possibly get 5,000,000.00 for it.  There is something shady going on here for sure.

It says 1982.
But MJ didn´t looked out so in that time?
It´s aloud to make copys of paintings but in that case you can´t sign. But I think if you make copy of your own painting you can sign. Hmmm, what a puzzle

[msteetee34]

It's kind of ironic that his paintings are being sold on ebay.  I actually heard that one of MJ's big hobbies was going shopping on ebay.  He liked that site very much.

[TinkerBell_777]

Dear beLIEvers,

This painting has raised great interest to me for a long time, since it contains a lot of symbols related to Michael's message: the Masonic decked-floor, the columns, his alter-ego being portrayed at the back while he is in front, holding the secret (the book with a key on it), the veil of mystery... I think exposing it and displaying the painting to the world through the auction from April 12 is absolutely intentional and meaningful. We should identify the message and the whole world should see it.

Moreover, I posted an article I found regarding this painting's history and also a better image of "The Book". Enjoy!

City Room
August 3, 2009, 4:00 pm
In Michael Jackson Painting, He Wore Red Velvet
By JENNIFER 8. LEE

"The 50-by-40-inch painting, called “The Book,” was done in 1990 by an Australian artist, Brett-Livingstone Strong, who was a close friend of Mr. Jackson and shared his taste for slightly fantastical style of life and dress.

The portrait depicts Mr. Jackson dressed in red velvet holding a journal of thoughts and sketches. “We called it, ‘The Book,’” Mr. Strong said. ‘What are you going to put in ‘The Book’ today, Michael?’” The backdrop is Neverland, with an image of Tinkerbell. The painting has touches of Vermeer, as that was one of Mr. Jackson’s favorite painters, Mr. Strong said.

The painting is owned by two toy inventors, Marty Abrams and John Gentilly, who received the painting in 1992 from a Japanese businessman who had bought it to make good on a debt he owed the inventors.

“If someone came with a legitimate offer, I’d probably sell it,” said Mr. Abrams, who lives in Great Neck. He tried selling it when he first took possession of it in 1992, but couldn’t find any good offers.

“I couldn’t get anyone at that time interested in the painting,” said Mr. Abrams. “I put it in storage for 17 years, and it has been there for 17 years.”

They never displayed it in their own homes. “It’s so expensive that the insurance was too expensive,” Mr. Abrams said. “I have prints for $600. I might have a sketch for $1,000. But to put a $2 million painting in the middle of all that would be a little bit overwhelming.”

They were inspired to bring the painting out of storage after Mr. Jackson’s death in June, in part because Mr. Abrams saw a news story about a sketch portrait of Michael Jackson by Andy Warhol that was being put up for auction.

Mr. Strong and Mr. Jackson formed an art business partnership, the Jackson-Strong Alliance, around 1989 and 1990 to display their art work, which included this portrait. The two were brainstorming how to raise money for charity when Mr. Strong mentioned that a Japanese businessman, Hiromichi Saeki, had offered millions of dollars for a portrait of Mr. Jackson.

Mr. Jackson said he would sit for it if the buyer agreed to pay a world record — ultimately $2.1 million, then reported as the highest amount ever paid for a living person. “Sometime later he told me he would have made $5 million for it,” Mr. Strong said. The businessman later went bankrupt and gave the painting to Mr. Abrams.

Mr. Strong still has a number of drawings done by Mr. Jackson as part of the partnership. “These drawings are really interesting. Some of the are really fantastic. They have been in a drawer for 17 years.” He is hoping to hold an exhibit of the art.

A limited, autographed set of lithographs was created based on “The Book.” Around 375 of them were numbered and some have made their way onto eBay and Craigslist.

The owners have received calls from as far away as Dubai after Mr. Jackson’s death from people who knew they owned the painting. “Up to this point we’ve been very skittish,” Mr. Abrams said. They have reached out to Phillips De Pury auction house to get an assessment. “I am not an art expert. I don’t understand the art market,” he said. “We have no idea what it’s worth. Is it worth $1 million? Is it worth $10 million?”

Currently, the painting is being displayed at the Dancy-Power Automotive at Lenox Avenue and West 129th in Harlem, chosen in part because it is owned by a friend of Mr. Abrams and also because it is near the Apollo Theater, where the Jackson 5 won an amateur night competition in 1967.

It hasn’t drawn huge crowds, Mr. Abrams said, in part because “we don’t put a big sign in the window, ‘Michael Jackson Painting Here.’”

[*Mo*]

The painting itself bothers me, just take a good look at it.

[mjfansince4]

The painting itself bothers me, just take a good look at it.

hmm hmm hmmm. first, why are the eyes blue? second, if you look at the painting the painter is doing (in the background to the right) it is a copy of the michael in foreground -you can see the red puffy sleeve without any of the gold detail, which is what the michael the painter is supposed to be painting is wearing. doubles all around!

then...checkered floor...

like always, red is a prominent color (his jacket) and then, yellow flowers (like at the memorial?)

there's the obvious peter pan reference too. and the "fog" adds an air of mystery.

notice the diary (keeps secrets) but blatantly has the key to the diary right on top of the book...maybe the secrets aren't meant to be secrets? perhaps things we "aren't supposed to know" are the things we need to know?

i'm sure i'm missing a ton, but it's been a long day of school and work. i need to switch from my contacts to glasses now. my eyes are killling me.

what else am i missing??

[PinkTopaz]

The painting itself bothers me, just take a good look at it.

Tell me about it.. How would this artist know to paint these symbols that accurately refer to him, though?

[kingofmystery]

I think some are reading way too much into this painting.  This was painted at Neverland Ranch, where parts of the flooring on the property are checkerboard.  (Even the floor where they filmed Ghost at Neverland is like that.)  Checkerboard floors are a common architectural feature in many homes.  (I have many friends and colleagues that have homes with the same type of floor.)

Although not specifically stated in this article, it's widely assumed that the "book" represents the Bible, a very important book to Michael and his faith.

The 50-by-40 inch portrait shows Jackson in a Renaissance-era red velvet jacket and seated on a stool on a checkerboard floor at at his Neverland Ranch, beside a table holding a vase of flowers, while holding a book that is "significant in his life," the auction states.

Above him is a sweeping curtain. Behind Jackson's right shoulder is a statue of Peter Pan, the legendary boy that refused to grow up and a character the singer, who died last June, had always admired.The title of the book is not shown. The flowers represent "Jackson's love of nature," the auction says.

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In the painting's upper left hand corner, Jackson is seen being painted by the artist, Brett-Livingstone Strong.

[jill]

Here are the questions that have been asked of the seller and the responses he/she has given.  Hope this helps in some way.  I did ask the seller about the signature discrepancy.  If she posts an answer I will let you know what she says.

Questions and answers about this item
  Q: Wow! I am so glad that I heard about this auction on the radio. This painting is amazing. The likeness is fantastic. I wish you the best of luck with this auction. The winning bidder will be a very lucky person.
A: I agree!!!
 Apr 09, 2010  
  Q: I'm a 60 year old grandmother from the Midwest. I can remember when Thriller came on MTV. My sons were in Middle School and everyone had to learn to Moonwalk. I still love Michael. He was such a gift to the world. Thank... Continue reading
A: I was in middle school too and never quite mastered the "moon walk." Thank you for sharing your story!
 Apr 08, 2010  
  Q: Thank you for showing us this gorgeous painting of the King. The colors are exquisite, the face is so beautiful. We waited anxiously for it to be presented on Ebay. History before our eyes. God Bless.
A: Thank you!
 Apr 08, 2010  
  Q: Hi I agree with the other ebayers comment Michael Jackson was a legend there is no one out there that will ever compare to him ever! Thank you for giving me joy and pleasure of viewing this majestic painting. It is stunning!... Continue reading
A: Yes, it is stunning! Thank you.
 Apr 08, 2010  
  Q: Thank you for giving someone else the opportunity to own this beautiful painting of Michael. Although this item is out of my price range, it was a pleasure to view this painting on your auction. I would hope that the winner... Continue reading
A: Thank you for your kind words.
 Apr 08, 2010  

Ask a question

[*Mo*]

I think some are reading way too much into this painting.

So you are suggestion we just ignore all the symbolism in this painting, the only painting he ever posed for, while Mike used symbolism for years and years to tell things he can't say outright?  

No, I don't think I'm reading too much into this panting, Mike and symbolism are inseparable.

[jill]

I am also watching Arnold Klein's car on ebay, so I decided to ask him if he had any knowledge of who is selling the painting or why.  It's a long shot but I will let you know if he replies.

[Puff]

The painting itself bothers me, just take a good look at it.

Tell me about it.. How would this artist know to paint these symbols that accurately refer to him, though?

Just a question.... did you ever see Blood on the Dance floor cd cover???
Everybody can figure out which symbols can possibly refer to him.
There are a lot of symbols related to Mike and we can't ignore that!