Rediscovered Bob Dylan painting set to fetch $100,000 at auction
A painting that Bob Dylan swapped for an astrology chart from a Woodstock resident is set to raise an estimated $100,000 (£80,000) at auction.
The abstract work, which was painted around 1968, was given to Sandy LePanto, who prepared the chart, and has remained in her family ever since.
It was rediscovered recently as part of the estate of Ms LePanto’s former husband, Anthony, and is being offered by RR Auction of Amherst, New Hampshire and Boston, in a sale in May.
This painting is a melange, depicting a bull, bow ties, music notes, animals and a man in a red hat, which is believed to be Dylan himself.
“Sandy was not only one of the most beautiful women in Woodstock at a time when there were many; she was a mystic, a channeller, a reader of stars, and maker of astrology charts for her friends,” explained Anne Margaret Daniel, who is writing a series of essays on Dylan,
“Dylan gave Sandy a painting in exchange for the charts and readings she’d done for him. The old arts community of Woodstock worked on the barter system then, and to a degree still does today.”
Woodstock, in upstate New York, is synonymous with the music festival in 1969, even if it took place 40 miles away.
Although Bob Dylan lived in Woodstock, he did not appear at the event because he was due to appear at the Isle of Wight festival.
While best known for his music, Dylan, 82, was an enthusiastic artist, with his work ranging from the realism of Edward Hopper to the abstract.
Many of his paintings were a chronicle of his life on the road, from images of hot dog stands and New York street scenes to paintings of Route 66.
Other paintings included the cover for the album of his backing group, the Band.
Very little of his work has ever been displayed, although there was an exhibition of his paintings in Florida in November 2021.
It is even rarer for his work to be put up for auction.
In 2021 a nude painted by Dylan, which was once owned by his manager Albert Grossman, was sold for $100,000.
