:: BSart.com :: OH, LORD (NOT FROM PARADE)

Titled 'The Spirit of Freedom', the monument honors the US Presidency, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. In 1987 the monument was officially authorized and commissioned by President Ronald Reagan and Chief Justice Warren E. Burger. Sculpted by Brett-Livingstone Strong, the official artist of the bicentennial in celebration of the US Constitution and Presidency, this unique monumental work of art weighs 27 tons and is constructed from the finest granite, bronze, gold, and crystal. The full scale artist proof is available including specific artist rights of the 50 US State limited edition, historic photos, original documents including a collection of President Reagan's signatures endorsing the artist's monumental work at Independence Hall. All original documents of the artist's full-scale transcriptions of the US Constitution were authorized by the National Archives, which houses the original Constitution and the Bill of Rights documents. The appraised value of this extraordinary and historic work of art exceeds $18 million.

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Brett-Livingstone Strong, Strong Monuments - Notable Letters and Press about the Artist (AND THE BEST BLOGGER EVER AWARD GOES TO ME AGAIN...AGAIN, YOU'RE WELCOME)

	Brett works with an Acetylene Torch on the 20 ton Presidency Monument.		Exhibit Space in the Sun City Museum of Fine Art in Arizona.		Brett works in his home painting studio.
	Young Brett in his Queensland studio with his master painting 'Creation of Man'.		Brett with his three bronze tributes to John Lennon. The statue was placed in the foyer of the Music Academy building while the two busts are kept in Rock'n'Roll museums.		Wild Life Foundation Auction. LA Mayor Riordan congradulates Brett on his $250,000 sale.
	Unveiling of"The Book" with partner Michael Jackson of the Jackson-Strong Alliance.		Michael, Brett, and Hiromichi Saeki; purchaser of Brett's record breaking $2.1 million painting titled 'The Book' in early 1990.		Brett and Apollo XII Commander Pete Conrad.
	Brett explains his visions of the Independance Hall Monument to President Ronald Reagan.		President Reagan and Brett at the unveiling of the Bicentennial Monument.		The Artist is congratulated by first lady Barbara Bush.
	'Formation of Life' copper sculpture.		News interview in front of John Wayne sculpture.		Contemplating his next cut in the John Wayne boulder.
	Carving the John Wayne stone sculpture in Century City, 1978.		Brett inspects part of the famous Malibu Rock in 1978.		Brett and formula one race car driver Jackie Stewart with Brett's Indy 500 car.
	The Jackson Strong Alliance		Agajanian Strong Indy500 Racing Team		Dr. Armand Hammer congradulates Brett at the official museum unveiling of his portrait.
	LA Mayor Brandley and Brett unveil the Eagle Monument in Japan.		Paul Newman and Brett race on a slick track at Paul's 60th Birthday party.		Pricilla Presley and Brett in front of Rodin's Bronze sculpture, 'Gates of Hell' at the Dallas Museum of Modern Art.
	Jackson-Strong Alliance page in the Dangerous Tour Book.		Brett, Bono of U2, and his wife discuss future projects.		Brett finds inspiration at the site of the Stonehenge ancient rock formation.
	Brett, with his son Stason, introduces Michael and Lisa-Marie Presley in his Los Angeles home in 1992.		Brett and Andy Warhol discuss Brett's World Peace Monument honoring John Lennon in New York City in 1981.		Brett often worked with popular bands to design stages and album covers. Shown here are Brian Wilson and Mike Love of the Beach Boys.
	Bob Hope congratulates Brett at his unveiling ceremony of the 'We the People' project.		Brett's promotional cover from 1987.		Welding together the John Lennon bronze.
	Young Brett in Australia with his Koala named 'Bluey'.		Michael congratulates Brett for his Jackson Burn Center bronze relief and wrote "Brett, you're the modern day Michelangelo".		Brett poses for theLA Times in front of his City of Angels project.
	Apollo XI astronaut Buzz Aldren congratulates Brett, with his son Stason, at the National Space Exploration Monument unveiling.		Brett, with Margot and son Stason, talks with President Reagan during the Bicentennial Monument unveiling ceremony at Independance Hall on September 17, 1987.		Brett's first one-man gallery exhibit in Los Angeles in 1977 after leaving Australia.
	LA Mayor Richard Riordan, Steven Soboroff, President of the Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners and Senior Advisor to the Mayor, discuss future projects with Brett.		Brett works on his massive project consisting of sculpture and painting called 'Visions'.		Brett meets with internationally renowned ballet dancer Rudolph Nureyev and Cynthia Lennon in front of the John Lennon statue.
	Jackie Chan discussing his interest in Brett's architecture for China.

Notable Letters and Press about the Artist

Michael Jackson Painting, He Wore Red Velvet

HW UPDATE: The owners of a long-hidden painting of Michael Jackson, reputed to be the only portrait he ever posed for, say they are trying to sell it amid the renewed interest after his death. The painting, last sold in 1990 for $2.1 million, was brought out of storage at New Jersey warehouse recently and put on display in a Harlem car showroom.

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.’”

The Hiromichi Saeki Corp. paid $ 2.1 million to artist Brett-Livingstone for a portrait of Michael Jackson

1990

- Cuadro -de un artista vivo- más valorado de la historia (The Hiromichi Saeki Corp. pagó 2.1 millones de dólares al artista Brett-Livingstone por un retrato de Michael Jackson)

The Hiromichi Saeki Corp. paid $ 2.1 million to artist Brett-Livingstone for a portrait of Michael Jackson)