Editing Stuart Sutcliffe (section)

==Art==
[[File:Sutcliffe painting.jpg|thumb|right|''Hamburg Painting no. 2'']]
Sutcliffe displayed artistic talent at an early age.{{sfn|Spitz|2005|p=105}}{{sfn|Lennon|2005|p=47}} Fellow student Helen Anderson remembered his early works as very aggressive with dark, moody colours, which was not what she expected from such a "quiet student".{{sfn|Spitz|2005|p=107}} One of Sutcliffe's paintings was shown at the [[Walker Art Gallery]] in Liverpool as part of the [[John Moores (merchant)|John Moores]] exhibition, from November 1959 to January 1960. After the exhibition, Moores bought Sutcliffe's canvas for £65 ({{Inflation|UK|65|1960|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}), which was then equal to 6–7 weeks' wages for an average working man.{{sfn|Miles|1997|p=50}} The picture Moores bought was titled ''Summer Painting'', and Sutcliffe attended a formal dinner to celebrate the exhibition with another art student, Susan Williams.<ref name="BeatlesBrowserFourp4">{{cite web|url=http://triumphpc.com/mersey-beat/beatles/beatlesbrowser-four4.shtml |title=Beatles Browser Four (p4) |publisher=Bill Harry/Mersey Beat Ltd. |access-date=1 July 2011}}</ref> Murray remembered that the work was painted on a board rather than a canvas. Due to its size, it had to be cut in two and hinged. Murray noted only one of the pieces actually got to the exhibition (because they stopped at a pub to celebrate), but sold nonetheless because Moores bought it for his son.{{sfn|Spitz|2005|p=168}}

Sutcliffe was turned down when he applied to study for an Art Teacher's Diploma (ATD) course at Liverpool Art College,<ref name="IssueNo23">{{cite web |url=http://www.merseybeat.co.uk/articles-details.php?cat=Bill+Harry's+Mersey+Beat&id=546 |title=Issue No.23 Mersey Beat Reveals The Beatles Are To Record! |access-date=1 July 2011}}</ref> but after meeting Kirchherr, he decided to leave the Beatles and attend the Hamburg College of Art. In June 1961, he did so, under the tutelage of Paolozzi, who later wrote a report commending Sutcliffe.{{sfn|Miles|1997|p=65}}<ref>[http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/mol/exhibitions/sutcliffe/idcard.asp Hamburg identity card, 1961] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060925013351/http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/mol/exhibitions/sutcliffe/idcard.asp |date=25 September 2006 }} liverpoolmuseums.org.uk. Retrieved 13 May 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/mol/exhibitions/sutcliffe/report.asp Eduardo Paolozzi's Report] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070514220147/http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/mol/exhibitions/sutcliffe/report.asp |date=14 May 2007 }} liverpoolmuseums.org.uk. Retrieved 13 May 2007</ref> In Paolozzi's words: "Sutcliffe is very gifted and very intelligent. In the meantime he has become one of my best students."<ref name="Stuart Sutcliffe Estate"/>

Sutcliffe's few surviving works reveal influence from British and European [[abstract art]]ists contemporary with the [[Abstract Expressionist]] movement in the U.S. His earlier figurative work is reminiscent of the [[kitchen sink realism|kitchen sink school]], particularly of [[John Bratby]], though Sutcliffe was producing abstract work by the end of the '50s including ''Summer Painting'' purchased by Moores.<ref name="The Summer Painting">{{cite web |url=http://www.stuartsutcliffeart.com/gallery.php?category=Middle%20Work |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061128113811/http://stuartsutcliffeart.com/gallery.php?category=Middle%20Work |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 November 2006 |title=The Summer Painting |publisher=Stuart Sutcliffe Estate. |year=2010 |access-date=1 July 2011 }}</ref> Sutcliffe's works bear some comparison with those of [[John Hoyland]] and [[Nicolas de Staël]], though they are more lyrical (Sutcliffe used the stage name "Stu de Staël" when he was playing with the Beatles on a Scottish tour in spring 1960). His later works are typically untitled, constructed from heavily impastoed slabs of pigment in the manner of de Staël (whom he learned about from [[Surrey]]-born art instructor Nicky Horsfield) and overlaid with scratched or squeezed linear elements creating enclosed spaces.

''Hamburg Painting No. 2'' was purchased by Liverpool's [[Walker Art Gallery]] and is one of a series entitled ''Hamburg'' in which surface and colour changes produce atmospheric energy. European artists (including Paolozzi) were also influencing Sutcliffe at the time.<ref>[http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/collections/20c/sutcliffe.asp  ''Hamburg Painting No. 2'' 1961] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070213165122/http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/collections/20c/sutcliffe.asp |date=13 February 2007 }} liverpoolmuseums.org.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2007</ref> The Walker Art Gallery has other works by Sutcliffe: ''Self-Portrait'' (in charcoal) and ''The Crucifixion''.<ref>[http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/mol/exhibitions/sutcliffe/portrait.asp Sutcliffe's self-portrait (in charcoal)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060925013300/http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/mol/exhibitions/sutcliffe/portrait.asp |date=25 September 2006 }} liverpoolmuseums.org.uk. Retrieved 13 May 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/online/exhibitions/beatles/art/sutcliffecrucifixion.asp "The Crucifixion" by Sutcliffe] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060925013208/http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/online/exhibitions/beatles/art/sutcliffecrucifixion.asp |date=25 September 2006 }} liverpoolmuseums.org.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2007</ref> Lennon later hung two of Sutcliffe's paintings in his house ([[Kenwood, St. George's Hill|Kenwood]]) in [[Weybridge]], and McCartney had a Paolozzi sculpture in his [[Cavendish Avenue]] home.{{sfn|Miles|1997|p=170}}{{sfn|Miles|1997|p=258}}