Stuart - The Life & Art of Stuart Sutcliffe

A close friend and fellow art school student of John Lennon, Stuart Sutcliffe was invited to join The Beatles as bass player for a series of gigs in Hamburg in 1960. Stuart's passion for his art led him to leave the band and concentrate on his painting, staying in the city with his fiancée, Astrid Kirchherr.

This Deluxe edition contains an illustrated biography of Stuart, as well as a facsimile reproduction of one of his sketchbooks, filled with paintings and drawings from Liverpool and Hamburg, which highlight Stuart's artistic development and state of mind at the time. Many art critics have maintained that, had Stuart lived beyond his 21 years, he would likely have become one of the foremost British painters of our time. In Hamburg, he studied with teachers including pop art legend Eduardo Paolozzi, and despite his young age, he amassed a sizeable body of visual art, with an emphasis on abstract expressionist painting.
Together, the two volumes combine to provide the first comprehensive catalogue of Stuart Sutcliffe's art and an unrivalled view into the formative years of The Beatles.