Lot 1781
Sinatra Oil Painting. 40 x 40", Oil on Canvas, framed to 42" x 42". Signed bottom right, signed and dated by Sinatra verso: "Frank Sinatra / Rancho Mirage, Cal / 1992".
Frank Sinatra was a painter. Not a casual, weekends-only, just-filling-time painter, but 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 the 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. 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 turquoise geometric elements. Although he painted for much of his adult life, particularly while in Palm Springs, very few of Sinatra's original works have ever come up for sale. This bold work is likely the last finished Sinatra painting, and we are privileged to offer it to our bidders.
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 with Sinatra when he was told of Rizzo's death and who spent a great deal of time with Sinatra in his last years, never saw him pick up another paintbrush after Rizzo's funeral. Jilly's death and Sinatra's own vision problems effectively ended his enjoyment of a fifty-year hobby. To the best of Tony's knowledge, this is the final completed painting from Frank Sinatra's studio.
Estimated Value $35,000-UP.
From the Collection of Tony Oppedisano.
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