The Queen of Art - Marilyn Goldberg

SUMMER 2014 • $5.00 US

www.fineartmagazine.net

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HOW A FEARLESS WOMAN WITH VISION, TASTE & HEART BUILT AN EMPIRE STORY - PAGE 7

1 • Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2014

MARILYN GOLDBERG The Queen Of Art & Her Court

BY VICTOR BENNET FORBES

MarilynI, Marilyn II World Tour Exhibition

There are few who have done as much to make great art accessible to the public in so many ways than Marilyn Goldberg

Sid Maurer’s Bob Marley portrait was a centerpiece of the“Songs of Freedom” exhibition of photographs and other Marley memorabilia. Held at Marilyn Goldberg’s Galerie Mari Hube townhouse in NYC to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the reggae superstar’s death. The Gallery served Jamaican food with staff dressed in Rastafarian colors of red, gold and green and was covered in the NY Times.

“I loved dancing to his music,” said Marilyn. “It was better than my old days at Studio 54 with Dali and Warhol!”

2 • Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2014

Marilyn Goldberg, President of Museum Masters International, is a reservoir of artistic ideas and ideals and by studying her achievements spanning nearly four decades, one will gain great insight into the most creative movements in Art and Design of our times. The result of her insightful understanding of what is intrinsically good and beautiful, coupled with her business acumen and genuine enthusiasm, is a model of grace seasoned with grit, the sum of which is a powerful drive to make the artists she represents not only commercially successful, but formidable icons in the playing fields of modern culture.

In a career in of which she has curated exhibitions and developed product for Picasso, Erté, Dali, Haring, van Gogh, Tamara de Lempicka, Warhol, John Lennon, Muramasa Kudo, Giancarlo Impiglia, Peter Max, Ed Heck and many others, she single-handedly revolutionized the concept of museum gift shops and the merchandising of art while helping artists (and their heirs) secure the rights to their work and protect their Trademark.

With her bright smile and attitude filled with beach sunshine and ocean waves, she has not dimmed a bit over the years. She continues to relish all challenges and works tirelessly seven days a week on each of her projects. Such as the days I watched her take Lennon’s doodles on napkins and tissues to the efforts of using her printing atelier background of fine lithography creating handmade papers, old limestone plates hand carved to adapt fine art prints which she called “Chine-colle.” Adapting Picasso original paintings to estate co-branded prints, exquisite silk fabric scarves recognized on the cover of Italian Vogue,(treasured today by Art

Marilyn Monroe © Sidney Randolph Maurer Licensed by MMI www.marilynmonroe.com

Partying with Warhol

At home with Picasso

THE NEW HEADQUARTERS OF MUSEUM MASTERS INTERNATIONAL, a stunning estate in New York’s world famous enclave of the rich and famous — The Hamptons — was funded by the Art Merchandising investor group, and Japanese partners. “Villa Marilyn” opened in 2012 under the auspices of architect/designer Marilyn Goldberg who created a total environment from gardens planted with Monet Water Lily Ponds with Water lilys from Giverney — to plates and mugs that coordinate with Monet’s works. There is a unique “Cat Chateau” inspired by Andy Warhol’s cat drawings and the “Marilyn Monroe Theater” replete with a wide variety of “Marilyn” paintings and products developed for the many exhibitions celebrating the 80th anniversary of MM’s birth. Each room of the complex expresses “The Art of Living” — an artistic lifestyle enhanced by the creations only Museum Masters could develop. Featured are new and classic MMI products from Picasso and Keith Haring beach towels in the poolhouse to Warhol and Picasso dinnerware in the dining room to Tamara de Lempicka vases and candlestick holders in the salon to Picasso Prints in the living room. There are Haring Mouse pads in the office for computer work and Erté and Picasso umbrellas line the entry foyer with Degas sun hats in the sunroom. Villa Marilyn will be licensed next for similar complex’s in vacation resorts around the world.

A Visionary Marketer Strikes Gold Galleries framing these as the limited edition silks, elegant tiffany quality tableware; creating the mark for Erté sculptures (through her contacts and the opening she arranged at the French embassy with Monsieur George Henri It’s director) where she unveiled personally the first “Victoire” as a three-dimensional sculpture. Not to mention the many other collections and celebrity campaigns from Mar il y n Monroe to Andy Warhol into Monroe exhibitions and sponsors like Pepsi with artworks and accessories which adorned homes mundane and palatial around the world. With her Hamptons investor groups, she architects and designs estates which are known as the “Villas Del Arte” (The Houses of Art) 3 • Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2014

At home with Picasso art & Erté telephone

The appreciation of the art that has resulted from her inspired, ground-breaking products not only has brought beauty and joy to many but has seen the value of her using the Art Trademarks she also develops, and files increase collectibles many times over.

From Picasso to Lennon, to the Catherine the Great Exhibition at the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, to de Lempicka in Rome, Milan, Paris, Japan, Mexico and Korea, Marilyn designed Brand Trademarked Certificates of authenticity that are issued with the signed and numbered editions used by the Estates for their Museum banners and books to this day.

Marilyn Goldberg began

Invitation by Mayor of Shanghai for Marilyn Goldberg Lectures on International Exhibitions and Merchandising business 2004

her ascent to lofty terrain as the world’s foremost art marketer at a townhouse in New York City’s posh East Side. Her Museum Masters International townhouse, which she architected and designed, was located at 26 East 64th Street as her headquarters.

Her first exhibition at there was for Bob Marley with over 1,000 visitors waiting on line to see the international photography, artwork, and groove to the music of the late Jamaican Rastafarian superstar with Marley family members in attendance. The event was further celebrated with Jamaican foods and attire, described int he press as an international New York sensation. The second major art show was Peter Max at her Southampton NY Garett Stephens Gallery named after her son Garett.

Later, after designing the programs for Warhol and Keith Haring, she sold her company to ProSeibenSat1, a Munich-based public company in Germany where she formed Art Merchandising and Media AG serving as a Vorstand (senior hierarchically subordinate member of the management board of the ProSeibanSat1 operations). In addition, Ms. Goldberg directed Art Merchandising and Media NY as well as Museum Masters International which continued it’s representation of Picasso and Tamara de Lempicka marketing through 2004 when staff and sub-agents worldwide were trained to run operations. As always, once she departed, the Estates no longer chose to do business with the new ownership and they continued to ask that she curate and put the exhibitions together.

With a group of US investors she financed her entire first production of her Picasso Program and convinced them that Art Merchandising was the way of the future. At that time, in the United States, a licensee would not consider a license of an artist nor were there any protective Artist Trademarks. Big companies in the USA invested in Mickey Mouse, Howdy Doody and Donald Duck…they were not from the sophisticated arena of Marilyn’s European family and did not at that time understand the value of these brands. After meetings held at the Negresco Hotel in Cannes France with the entire Picasso Estate and their individual heirs and attorneys, the approval system was conducted by US attorney Martin Bressler of VAGA. None contributed any financing to the project which Marilyn Goldberg developed solely in Japan for years with her Japanese partners Masao Kurimoto and Michiko Kobiayaskhi.

Her product designs presented at the Negresco meetings were approved to be sold internationally. The heirs never imagined at the time that the Marina Picasso Collection and Picasso Collection would become overnight sensations and that these collections would launch the birth of a most important andvibrant industry — one that could be used for development of all products: fine jewelry, watches, bed and bath, furniture and upholstery, porcelains and glassware not to mention fashion items, mobile phone covers, fragrance and cosmetics — even masterpiece baby wear and the most elegant baby embodied bedding. Museums were now able to have on site and show 4 • Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2014

Pablo Picasso top quality cigars & humidors. One of the many Picasso products developed by MMI (later followed by Administration Picasso Trademark Cars for Citroen)

profitability in their retail stores creating great revenue streams for these cash strapped organizations.

To get everything moving, Marilyn invested all she had and ventured to Japan to design and manufacture the initial set of products herself. There she found a way to manifest her vision of class and elegance where the importance of packaging was understood.

Exquisite trademark signature boxes were created and produced to be used by all of Ms. Goldberg’s manufacturers in Europe and the Orient featuring colorful tissue and ribbons for wrapping the gifts with repeats of the artist’s trademark signature. The Estate has lost original films thru battles with its predecessor SPADEM run at the time with Martine Doverne its Director. In order to prepare high resolution for new product, Museum Masters worked for months using the original Cray-Pas. These were the oil pastels used by Pablo Picasso and the famous art firm of Henri Sennelier.

Only by collecting these Cray-Pas were the exact and correct colors established and authenticated for the merchandising program. She single handedly created new future treasures and collectibles as the original of each painting or drawing she used on product that the world had never seen soared in value because they were “recognized images” by the new Asian Collector market.

Then there was a three week all expense paid visit by the Chinese Government for Marilyn Goldberg to lecture on International Business Trade, Copyright Registrations and Trademark Applications in order to protect the artwork owned by the artist and preventing from being stolen as it was from Picasso and Sid Maurer but then retrieved by order of the courts.

Years prior in Japan (which produced all as China does today), Ms. Goldberg was invited by Mitsukoshi Museum and Hakone Museum for the same purpose. She was greeted in the

highest of hospitality with formal Japanese Tea She also filed the first art trademarks in Ceremonies. She set up assorted International history to protect the merchandise that she piArt Exhibitions and produced the products she oneered world-wide “so that artists and their designed in her own hand with special border estates could secure the rights to their work.” designs derived from the original artists’ work.

“I drew the marks in my own hand beNew copyrights were filed to protect the new cause the signatures on each painting were designs. With blond and hair green eyes, she different. van Gogh only signed Vincent and I was the sole female Caucasian “in business” added the rest. I won a Picasso trademark case when it was unheard of for such a young woman in court when I drew the trademark I creatto be traveling the country with Japanese heads ed in front of the judge. So I know what it is of companies. like to have your trademark stolen. At least I She lived in Tokyo and Nagoya and worked had fifteen years to make money from those I at the factories where her various ideas came created, but artists like Sid and Robert Indito life. Her partners were Masao Kurimoto, ana (LOVE) earned nothing from their iconic and Michicko Horibe who helped her fund the publication of the first book in Japanese of the images.”

Marina Picasso Collection. Ms. Goldberg turned Editions created by Ms. Goldberg were simple drawings into collectible masterpieces she very successful and each limited edition designed. She manufactured the first Picasso MMI Keith Haring Children’s clock 1999 product of her artists, while soaring in value porcelain on the island of Arita, and the first (c) The Keith Haring Foundation 2000 also spawned an entire industry of co-branded www.haring.com Picasso scarves at the Sisan Factory in Como, lithographs along with ever-appreciating Italy where the story was value of limited edition picked up by Italian Vogue. dinnerware, silk scarves and W ithin two years and a myriad of other products. despite major resistance, her Paper shopping bags in her ideas and concepts sold in “limited editions” that then the most prestigious world cost $1.25 trade at $500 museums from Mitsukoshi today. The prints she started to the Hakone Open Air at $150 escalated to $5,000Museum in Japan to the 10,000 dollars. She has done Guggenheim in New York, the Picasso Museum in Paris and this over and over with each celebrity artist and photographer she Barcelona and the Louvre Museum in Paris. This victories secured represents.

Marilyn Goldberg as a legendary pioneer of art merchandising who Sid Maurer is next on the agenda for 2015. created new brands that she alone believed in for the world. Ms. Goldberg was then inducted into the Artexpo Hall of Fame by her peers, treated as an artist in her own right along with Erté, Dali, Warhol and many other famous artists. Artexpo co-founder Jerry Leberfeld to this day calls on her for marketing advice stating, “Her distinctive display booths and unrivaled energy and enthusiasm for success still amazes me and was a major factor in the success of our shows.”

Her designs and penchant for turning well-known works of art into everything from ashtrays to Tiffany tableware have generated billions of dollars in sales and have brought the works of the greats of all-time, previously only available as originals or posters, into the homes of millions around the world.

That was certifiably the beginning of art merchandising as we know it today. She single-handedly pioneered and revolutionized the concept of museum gift stores starting with the Guggenheim in New York City, which initially was quite reticent to change the drab shop into an attractive boutique. “I sold them their first products after I left a basket of samples,” recalls Marilyn from her spectacular waterfront headquarters in the Hamptons. “I introduced artist-related products that ran the gamut from Picasso scarves — first advertised in VOGUE — to Tiffany quality dinnerware, vases, candlestick holders, fragrances, crystal and tapestries. It all began with limited edition estate-endorsed lithographs signed by Picasso’s granddaughter Marina Picasso. The editions were so successful they spawned an entire industry. This was soon followed by very specially made Chine Colle graphics, developed from tissue and napkin doodles via Marilyn’s vision and signed and endorsed by Yoko Ono with a chop mark and embossed seal similar to that which she made for Picasso and more recently for Tamara de Lempicka.

Museum Masters International logo seals created by Marilyn Goldberg

Over the years she introduced a myriad of products in collaboration with exhibitions of van Gogh, Renoir, Monet, Klimpt, Erté, Dali, Warhol, Haring and de Lempicka, all creating great revenue streams for cash-strapped museums

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Vittoriano Museum “The new pride of Rome Italy where Ms. Goldberg organized and opened her exhibitions starting with Victoria de Lempicka with the president of Italy, the granddaughter and great granddaughter of Tamara De Lempicka in collaboration with Italian curator Gioia Mori and long time gallery handler Alain Blondel. Once again the gift store thrived and Lempicka products were bought by the thousands who visited. The busses, airports and street corners all celebrated with banners showing the Lempicka paintings.

Tamara de Lempicka

© Tamara Art Heritage licensed by www.MuseumMasters.com

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From Guilty Pleasure To Auction Trea$ure

t is no coincidence that since Museum Masters International began promoting Tamara de Lempicka 25 years ago this artist has escalated in price from $200,000 dollars a painting to over $9 million at auction. Considered “an upper-class dilettante … arrogant and depraved,’’ (as Laura Claridge writes in Tamara de Lempicka: A Life of Deco and Decadence’) Ms. Goldberg took de Lempicka from semi-obscurity into the 20th Anniversary Tamara mainstream with major museum de Lempicka, Victoria de exhibitions paving the way for Lempicka, Marilyn Goldberg what will certainly be a provocative Hollywood motion picture in short order. The first exhibits for de Lempicka were financed by Braintrust in Japan. William Webber, President of Modern Master Tapestries and long-time MMI exhibition manager, in searching for the best museums in the world for a de Lempicka show, discovered the newly renovated Vittoriano in Rome, Italy. Unfortunately, he slipped on the steps there and was instantly killed. This was one of the At Sotheby’s in 2011, great sadnesses in Marilyn’s life. The Vittoriano then became the location which she felt spiritually that William Webber had Tamara de Lempicka’s selected for the new exhibitions. painting ‘‘Le Rêve/ The next Tamara de Lempicka exhibition is set for Korea Rafaëla sur fond vert,’’ in 2015 with Victoria Colonna of Colonnavittoria, in Los Andone in hyper-realist geles, in line to make the film of de Lempicka’s life in conjuncstyle in 1927, sold for tion with Darren Goldberg of Atlantic Pictures.

$8.48 million

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Tamara de Lempick buses, Airport signs, and Banners throughout Rome Vittoriano Museum 2011-12 www.delempicka.org

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El Sid “The Kid” Rides Again

Marilyn Goldberg’s newest Exhibition and Museum Merchandising project will be in collaboration with Sid Maurer, and his company Celebrity Icons. A 50-year archive has arrived in Southampton to be curated for this retrospective.

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in what Sid could only describe as a Turkish wedding gown, the omewhere between Their Satanic Majesties Request album and the recording of Sympathy For The Devil, Brian Jones, Sunshine Superman took Sid up on his offer to take a short walk went to the dark side. back to his studio, locatUnceremoniously canned ed around the corner. “We from the band he started, hung out, smoked a couple Jones, arguably the heart and of joints, talked about all soul of the Rolling Stones, kinds of nice stuff and he was found (still-breathing invited me to his sold-out some say) at the bottom of Carnegie Hall show and his swimming pool at Enthat’s how our friendship glish countryside home, started.” Donovan, belatedCotchford Farm. In one of ly elected in 2013 to the those yet-to-be-solved legRock and Roll Hall of endary rock and roll deaths, Fame, readily states, “Sidthe mystery remains. Yet the ney did all my album jackfacts of his life are indisputets and design in the ’60s He’s the best there is. His able. “He formed the band. artworks are to be treasured He chose the members. He and we are friends to this named the band. He chose day.” the music we played. He got In those halcyon times, us gigs…he was very influen“Don would phone me from tial, very important, and then England,” recalled the artist slowly lost it,” said Stones in recent interview from bassist Bill Wyman. None his Atlanta studio “and say, other than Bo Diddley called ‘What are you doing this him “a fantastic cat who hanweekend?’ and I would hop dled the group beautifully.” on a plane and we’d have Enter Sid Maurer, a maa visit. He had a beautiful jor league New York City art cottage in Hartforsdhire director/artist who helmed with a very colorful large an agency that produced albird painted on the roof. bum covers at the rate of one In those days, we’d sima day for a few years in the ply hang out, which one psychedelic era. It was during could do back then.” Visithis period that Maurer’s tors might include George work gained major recogniHarrison or one of the othtion with best-selling records and sales of his paintings in Sid Maurer with portrait of Brian Jones and Linda from a photo he took of them in 1967. er Beatles as Donovan had galleries from Manhattan to Below, left, is Sid’s graphic rendition on a baby picture (inset above is Sid’s from 1927) just returned from a trip to showing details of what would become the famous tongue logo. Below center is the London to where he regu- painting by Sid bought by Jones in 1968 which eventually morphed into the logo ultimately India to visit the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi with the band larly commuted to visit his executed by a British design student John Pasche after a meeting with Mick Jagger. to study with the founder of best friend, the legendary Transcendental Meditation, troubadour/teen idol/rock star etc. It was there that Donwho still goes by the sinovan taught John and Paul gle name of Donovan. They his unique guitar style of met on his maiden voyage which Lennon’s Julia is the to America when “Don” was most famous example. freaking out over the excesDuring one of many sive enthusiasm of secretarparties Sid attended in ies-turned-groupies and the business persona of label (l) Sid’s original concept; Brian Jones bought Sid’s painting (c) for $1500. (r) John Pasche’s London, he met Andrew president Clive Davis at the version sold at auction for $92,500 to Victoria Albert Museum. Another artist, Ruby Loog Oldham, managalso claims he did work on the logo and was paid $10,000 for its use. According er of the Rolling Stones, Columbia/Epic offices. At Mazur to Novagraaf/Musidor.com “The Rolling Stones are one of the longest running acts in the the time, Sid was under con- history of rock music, having remained wildly popular and prodigiously productive over who went on to dedicate a tract with Epic to produce their 50-year career. They are also well known for the lips and tongue logo, one of the chapter to Sid in his book all their album art and was world’s most instantly recognizable symbols of rock and roll. (Ed. note: with a value 2Stoned. Sid recalls one called in by Davis to meet of $100 million USD). The global music rights of the Rolling Stones are being handled gala with Princess Margaby Musidor BV in Amsterdam, The Netherlands in Partnership with Novagraaf and hold his newest star. Barefoot and Intellectual Property rights of the trademark The Rolling Stones, including the iconic logo. ret and Sean Connery in 8 • Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2014

attendance where Oldham and Sid bonded over a warning to not touch the punch. “‘It’s loaded with LSD,’ he told me. That’s how it was back then. You had to be careful. Our ’60s conversations were mostly, ‘Take a hit. Far out. Have another hit. Too much. What’s your sign?’”

Through Oldham, Sid met the doomed Brian Jones who commissioned him to paint a portrait of himself with his girlfriend Linda Lawrence, mother of his son Julian. Sid recalls, “Brian loved collecting. He had tidbits here and there, and many photographs.

He loved my baby picture from 1927! Unfortunately, the photo was old and not in great shape so I found an alternate (not of me) and embellished it with a little graphic concept with a tongue and lips penciled in, basically to reflect the Stones as they were: the bad boys of the era sticking their tongues out at authority, as opposed to the Beatles, who were considered more safe. He liked that image a lot and asked me to make a color drawing, which, unknown to me at the time, morphed somehow into the famous Rolling Stones tongue logo, which originated from my baby picture, of all things.

I first offered the drawing to their record label, Decca, who were willing to give me a few hundred dollars for it but Brian liked it enough to pay me 500 British Sterling pounds, which was about $1500 back then. I thought nothing of it until years later. In 2013 I was commissioned to make shirts and other items in France featuring my original tongue painting. Sortly after they were placed on display in a Paris department store, they were seized by Musidor and taken off the shelves for Sid on the boat with Donovan, ‘trademark infringement.’

Greece, 1968 Without Brian around to tell the real story, the manufacturer had no choice but to comply.”

The next thing Sid created for Brian was a portrait of the Stone and Linda. The photo Sid is holding (preceding page) became the basis for the initial small painting. “This shows how beautiful a guy he was,” said the artist. “I painted that picture somewhere along the line and tucked it away. After Brian died, Linda married my best friend, Donovan, and they became a family.”

In 2013, by Linda’s request to honor the 50th anniversary of the Rolling Stones, Sid was commissioned to re-create the portrait on canvas from his initial painting done all those years ago. The final painting is exactly the same but on canvas. The new version now resides in Ireland with Linda.

“I traveled all over with Donovan, and even accompanied he and Linda on their honeymoon. After one of his concerts at the Hollywood Bowl, Tommy Smothers threw a party for him. Hendrix, Janis, Morrison, Mama Cass, and a new kid on the block who didn’t even have a record out — Elton John — were all there. Many of the people I met became casualties, but Don did not. He was always very careful where he hung out and didn’t do drugs. After he made some money, he asked me to invest it for him so I put it in a bank in the Bahamas that I found out was ready to go under a year later. Somehow, I managed to salvage the dough and we bought a boat and took it to Greece with a crew of 12 and three hippies — me, Don and a friend. We landed at the Island of Hydras, to visit Leonard Cohen, who had a house up on a hill, accessible only by donkey.”

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long way from The Bronx, where Sid was born and raised when “the streets were black from horseshit, not asphalt. I was going to attend Taft (high school) but somewhere along the line a typographer friend of my family saw some of my work and suggested that I would be more suited to attend The School of Industrial Art on Jones Street in the Village. There were two teachers there, one for art, the other for academics and it was great, kind of like being an apprentice in the Renaissance. In the morning, we’d find our teacher on the stoop recovering from the night before and the first who arrived was designated to get him coffee. One of my classmates was Anthony Benedetto, better known as Tony Bennett, singer and artist. Anthony Benedetto is the name the signs his paintings with.

I wrote the class theme song and conducted our band. After graduation, I worked for Columbia Records in the art department. Their office was then in Bridgeport, Connecticut and I made the commute every day via the elevated Jerome Ave. line, bus crosstown to Grand Central and then a train ride. I was drafted, injured and sent taken home. After the war and I was OK, I started knocking on doors of record companies and was hired by Decca.”

Sidney Maurer album design for Donovan’s Barabajagal

During the late ’50s and early ’60s, Sid frequented the fabled Cedar Tavern where he met artists such as Rauschenberg, Johns, and Larry Rivers in their salad days and witnessed the zaniness of that particular scene. “Every night they would knock each other to the floor, fueled by alcohol. This was just before grass became mainstream in the mid ’60s and in those days I would run into Dylan, Joni Mitchell and many others in small clubs in Greenwich Village. That’s where I became especially close to music. My whole life as an artist has been fueled by my love of music.”

Sid’s career in the art and music field flourished in New York City where among his friends were Alan Klein (the businessman who helped form Apple Records for the Beatles and managed the Rolling Stones) and Bob Guccione. “He came to my exhibit at the Beilin Gallery on Madison Avenue, liked my stuff and asked me to show him a few things. I also met him in London. He was a slick guy, loved the girls and very handsome. I painted his portrait and helped him style the girls for photo shoots. He had his own penthouse, the girls were there and that was his life. We hung out,” Sid continued, “and I began to write chapters — not a book — about El Sid The Kid.”

Americana

With his myriad of friends, acquaintances and close encounters with the brightest stars of the era, Sid plans to revisit those pages and venture into the world of literature to coincide with his upcoming world tour under the auspices of Museum Masters International commencing later this year to open in Southampton, New York and travel to Korea, the Vittoriano in Rome and then the Centre Pompidou in Paris where Maurer merchandise created by Marilyn Goldberg and MMI will fill their gift stores and maintain the cultural continuum by teaching the young generation about the past grandeur of ‘The Stars.’

“Sid realized that the empire of music and art that he had helped to build by befriending the greatest musicians and band leaders of the globe left him little time to pursue his true passion: painting,” notes Marilyn Goldberg, who represents Maurer internationally through Museum Masters International, “Sid moved to Georgia where he has lived ever since. In a quieter and calmer locale, his painting thrived. Here he created his Americana series and Vanishing Georgia and developed a vast catalog of works revolving around the Civil War. He continues to portray an ever-expanding group of cultural icons including The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Jerry Garcia, Janis Joplin, Mama Cass, Jerry Garcia George Harrison, Marilyn Monroe, and the Rat Pack in Vegas, to name a few. His backstage adventures with Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber and 1D also made it onto canvas.”

In the last decade, his work has hung in a wide variety of venues, including the U.C.L.A. campus, the Carnegie Museum and Retroback Exhibition in Granada, Spain 2011 hosted by Sean Ferrer the son of Audrey Hepburn who Sid Maurer also painted.

Sid also worked with many artists and photographers among them 10 • Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2014

Sid Maurer and Bob Guccione, founder of PENTHOUSE, were friends in London and New York. Bob, an accomplished fine atrtist (and photographer) in his own right, came to Sid for instruction and all these years later, Sid has been commissioned to be an integral part of the PENTHOUSE brand re-launch and world tour.

The famous Sticky Fingers album (1971) front cover with a workable zipper by Andy Warhol with the inset debuting the tongue clearly reminisecent of Sid Maurer’s sketch done three years earlier for Brian Jones. When Maurer’s tongue was featured on merchandise sold in a Parisian department store, Musidor, which claimed ownership of the logo, issued a cease and desist and Sid’s clothing line was pulled from the shelves.

C’est la vie. C’est la guerre.

“SID NEVER RECEIVED RECOGNITION FOR HIS TONGUE PAINTING. Once again the major creators of the world lose the identity of all they have done by conglomerates who turn their creativity into millions without giving recognition to the true author.”

—MARILYN GOLDBERG

Futbol Salvador Dali and Carl Vechten back in 1939. Sid’s works were purchased by Enrique Sabatier, from Spain, who was executive assistant to Dali for many years. Enrique gave this work to Museum Masters at the Salvador Dali exhibition in New York City in 2012.

As did his old buddy Warhol, Sid created an Endangered Species series With his myriad of friends, acquaintances and close encounworld resulting in very amicable relations between the estate and ters with the brightest stars of the era, Sid plans to revisit those the artist. The deal is closed for the cans and bottles that have bepages and venture into the world of literature. come major collectables that traveled The Celebrity Icons of Sid with The Marilyn Monroe ExhibiMaurer, a major hard-cover book is in tions created by Marilyn Goldberg production as well as a documentary on of Museum Masters. On the horizon his Rock and Roll days with photos, are the co-branded Marilyn Monroe letters and stories. A complementary Estate Sid Maurer signed limited edibook featuring his entire body of work tions prints followed by the PENTfrom the Americana to Endangered HOUSE Maurer co-brand limited Species series will be published as well. editions prints of the PENTHOUSE Other examples to be included in Pets after a year-long negotiation as Sid’s bible of stories will be another a commemoration to Guccione and episode with Andrew Long Oldham the art lessons Sid gave him in Lonwhen Sid visited him in Bogotá in don. “He came to me for insight and 1997. From there, he then went on to I told him ‘It’s not how you draw but Argentina to meet the parents of a little what you do with your head.’” Later boy who was a great soccer player but in New York, he went to Sid Maurer was too small to be accepted onto any as his mentor and hired him as phoimportant league team. In those days to stylist for the PENTHOUSE Pets. the lad went by his given name, Lionel Guccione’s magnificent townhouse, Andres. Today he is known as “Messi,” the setting for Caligula, was designed rated by some as the best footballer of

by Marilyn Goldberg, which started all-time. Sid suggested that the parents the initial relationship with the new try a growth hormone that was very PENTHOUSE team. popular in London and in the United As a prime example of “what goes States. It worked but the boy’s family around comes around”, the new owners did not have the money to continue his of the PENTHOUSE brand have exgrowth therapy. Sid then contacted a plored the archives and the warehousfriend in Spain and secured the proper es, Sid has ear-marked his portrait of treatment for the boy, Guccione for the new PENTHOUSE Also included in the book will be Gallery of Art and will start the first Sid’s remembrances of Marilyn Monportfolio of Penthouse Pet Portrairs. roe. They were best of friends and Marilyn Goldberg has been engaged neighbors and often dined together. to do the new logo for the Penthouse He did many photos, portraits and Art Exhibition and Art Sales, of the paintings of her. Based on the special co-br and P ENTHOUSE~Maurrelationship of his love for Marilyn Pepsi Marilyn Monroe by Sidney Maurer e r editions. All of which is being finalMonroe and Marilyn Goldberg (his conized as this article goes to press.

Meanwhile, says Sid, “I’m sitting sultant on all business activities), he created the Marilyn series. in Atlanta, waiting for the Pets.”

Pepsi Cola awarded him Artist of the Year and memorialized him by creating the Maurer Marilyn Pepsi Cola cans and bottles

By VICTOR B. FORBES which went to all the exhibitions on Marilyn Monroe around the 11 • Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2014