Our thanks to Seamus Enright from The Anglo Celt newspaper, a weekly publication in Cavan, Ireland, for sharing with us the following story and pictures. You can see the original story at AngloCelt.ie.
The artwork in question goes up for auction tomorrow in a sale at Bonhams in London with a guide price of £3000-5000, alongside some other Pink Floyd items, including a marching hammer animation cel, a couple of the Floyd's touring flight cases, and a contact sheet print from A Momentary Lapse Of Reason's cover photo shoot.
Syd's artwork though is arguably the prime item amongst them, and below, you can find out the background to its recent discovery... UPDATE: the painting sold for £8150 (€9003) on December 11th at Bonhams.
A local antique dealer has had an incredible brush with luck after a €50 painting bought at auction was found to be the work of Pink Floyd's Syd Barrett, and could be worth up to five figures.
Maggie Mathews of the ironically-named 'Junk' in Virginia, [County Cavan, Ireland], says she was drawn to the roughened composition of a young girl when perusing items at one of Dublin's weekly bric-a-brac auctions.
"It was her eyes that drew me in. She was sitting on a table, filthy and covered in dust, as if you weren't supposed to see her really," Maggie explains, of a painting that otherwise could have been destined for the dump.
Just announced is a UK radio broadcast which should be worth tuning into on Boxing Day (December 26th).
The BBC's Radio 4 continue their Soul Music series on that day, with a show to be aired at 9am UK time (and repeated at 9:30pm the same day) taking a detailed look at Shine On You Crazy Diamond.
The series is an analysis of pieces of music that have a powerful emotional impact, and in this edition, David Gilmour recalls the day that Syd Barrett unexpectedly appeared at Abbey Road Studios when the Floyd were recording Wish You Were Here, and talks about the song which bookends the album.
Other contributors will also discuss what makes the song so special for them. After broadcast, it will be available as a podcast on the BBC Sounds app, or via their website.
Some news for (principally) our French speaking friends - there's a recently published Pink Floyd book which may be of interest to them.
The book, "Pink Floyd - Which One's Pink?" was published in France on October 18th, by Le Mot et le Reste publishers, and written by Alexandre Higounet. Whilst we've not seen a copy of it, the synopsis of the book is as follows:
"How can Pink Floyd's music be precisely defined? How can its evolution be explained over time? The author offers an original reading grid to understand its mechanism and deep essence. Built from a detailed analysis of each member's contributions, the book defines what makes the Floydian sound so emblematic, as well as it shows that far from being the result of chance, the various evolutions of Pink Floyd's music actually meet a specific logic, akin to musical tectonics where Rick Wright's place is far more central than the often mentioned Waters-Gilmour partnership."
On November 12th 1974, the respected BBC television series the Old Grey Whistle Test (which focused on the music scene of the time) conducted an interview with Hipgnosis (Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell), and Roger Dean, most notable for Yes and Asia covers, and a friend (and flat mate) of Storm.
The interview, which can be viewed below, gives an insight into the trio's thoughts and approach at the time, with Dean in particular complaining about the small space that cassette tapes afforded a cover designer. Eight years later, of course, the compact disc was to appear, with similar compromises in packaging.
Our thanks to Malcolm Walker for tipping us off about this video.
Around a year ago, we told you about Gerald Scarfe's then current exhibition at London's House of Illustration, which ran until mid-February this year. For all those who missed it, there's another chance coming up to enjoy "Gerald Scarfe: Stage & Screen".
The exhibition looks at Scarfe's varied work for stage and screen. It's a rare opportunity to explore the extensive but little-known production designs by the celebrated political cartoonist. Storyboards, costumes and props are on display from Pink Floyd's The Wall, Disney's Hercules and English National Ballet's The Nutcracker.
Many of the works on display are being shown for the very first time as part of "Gerald Scarfe: Stage & Screen". Having seen the London staging, we are sure that again there will be a fair amount of Floyd-related material on display amongst his work for other projects, so should definitely be worth a visit if you are able to get to Canterbury, in Kent (found around 65 miles to the east of London).
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