Frank Sinatra Oil Painting. Frank Sinatra was a painter. A man moved to create art. His abstract canvases, with their strong...

Description

Frank Sinatra Oil Painting. Frank Sinatra was a painter. A man moved to create art. His abstract canvases, with their strong lines and brilliant colors, reflect the passion and creativity that drove him on so many levels. As is clear from myriad examples in A Man and His Art: Frank Sinatra (Random House, 1991), the oil pictured above is emblematic of the Sinatra style. Sinatra explained on more than one occasion that the interplay between color and shadows fascinated him. Sinatra's three favorite colors were orange, red and blue. Orange was his favorite color -- "the happiest color," he said -- and the stunning orange base of this work accents the strength and brilliance of the red and blue geometric elements. Not coincidentally, these very shades of red and orange are identical to the colors used when Frank designed the logo for his Reprise record label in 1961. Although he painted for much of his adult life, particularly while in Palm Springs, Sinatra's original works have never come up for sale, until now.

In May of 1992, shortly after Sinatra completed this painting, he received the tragic news that Jilly Rizzo, his dearest friend, had died in a car accident. Tony Oppedisano (who was introduced to Sinatra by Jilly 20 years earlier and was very close to both men) had the painful task of delivering the sad news to. Tony shares, "After Jilly's death, I never saw him [Sinatra] pick up a paintbrush again." The devastation of Jilly's passing and Sinatra's own subsequent vision problems effectively ended his enjoyment of a 50-year passion. This bold work, according to his trusted friend Tony, is the last finished Sinatra painting, and we are privileged to include it in this auction.

The painting is a 40" x 40" oil on canvas, framed to 42" x 42", signed bottom right, and signed and dated by Sinatra on the verso: "Frank Sinatra / Rancho Mirage, Cal / 1992."

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