First Major Bob Dylan Art Exhibit Opens in London

The first major art gallery exhibit by Bob Dylan opened Saturday at the Halcyon Gallery in London's lively Mayfair district. Although he's been a committed visual artist since 1961, this is only the second time that Dylan's work has been shown publicly — the first being a three-month stint in Germany's Chemnitz Museum. Of the work, Dylan remarked on the enjoyment of sketching saying, "I'd lose all track of time completely. An hour or two would go by and it would seem like only a minute."

The Art of Music: Paintings by Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Patti Smith.

The Drawn Blank series features a collection of pencil, watercolor and gouache works that Dylan completed during his time on the road from 1989 to 1992. Themes present in Dylan's music and writing are present in his art as well. One of the featured pieces entitled "Train Tracks" is a pictorial motif that underscores the singer-songwriter's lifelong fascination with trains. As he writes in Chronicles: Volume 1, "I'd seen and heard trains from my earliest childhood days ... The sound of trains off in the distance ... made me feel at home, like nothing was missing."

Limited-edition graphics signed by Mr. Dylan are available for purchase starting at about $2,000. An extensive catalog with color and black-and-white reproductions is also available and selected works can be viewed at here. The exhibition continues through July 13th.

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Song Stories

“Push It”

Salt-N-Pepa | 1987

Originating as a B side to their cover of the Stax classic “Tramp,” Cheryl “Salt” James, Sandi “Pepa” Denton and Dee Dee “DJ Spinderella” Roper came up with the goods on this career-making, Grammy-nominated platinum single about working it on the dancefloor. “Push It” has been sampled and spliced to death since it debuted in 1987, yet the original track is as fresh and fly as when SNP — among the few original women of hip-hop — debuted it. “Most men will never believe ‘Push It’ was never about sex,” said James. “And that’s why the record went to Number One,” said Denton. “Everybody thought it was about sex.”

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