A Closer Look
John Lennon’s
‘Psychedelic Eye’ Mosaic
Take a deep dive into the story behind the ‘Psychedelic Eye’ mosaic commissioned by Beatles legend John Lennon for his swimming pool—offered in our Rock, Pop & Film auction on 29 November in London, Knightsbridge.
In the summer of 1965, John Lennon commissioned a monumental mosaic of an eye gazing upwards for his swimming pool at Kenwood, Surrey. It later became known as the ‘Psychedelic Eye’, ‘Magic Eye’, or ‘The Eye Of Knowledge’.
John Lennon: The 'Psychedelic Eye' Mosaic Commissioned By John Lennon For His Swimming Pool At His Kenwood Home, circa 1965. Estimate: Refer to department. Credit: Claire Carroll Photography
John Lennon: The 'Psychedelic Eye' Mosaic Commissioned By John Lennon For His Swimming Pool At His Kenwood Home, circa 1965. Estimate: Refer to department. Credit: Claire Carroll Photography
Nearly five metres long, the mosaic panel is made up of 24 sections across six large panels, with approximately 17,000 polychrome white, blue, green and red coloured tesserae (tiles), and more mirrored glass tiles for the iris.
Its lush colours and expressive visual design are exemplary of Lennon’s taste in the mid-to-late 1960s: by 1967, the singer-musician also owned a richly decorated psychedelic piano and Rolls Royce at Kenwood.
The design was likely created by Lennon – possibly based on one of his psychedelic cartoons, although the original designs have not survived.
The mosaic was completed two years before Lennon first met Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, so the imagery also predates The Beatles members’ interest in Eastern philosophies.
According to Beatles biographer Hunter Davies, Lennon would spend idle hours in contemplative silence by his pool.
The mosaic was also clearly visible from the sunroom at Kenwood, where Lennon retreated to for calm and respite from the relentless public attention he experienced.
Lennon owned Kenwood until 1968. In 1985, the new owners of the house removed the mosaic from the pool to preserve it for display.
It was exhibited at The International Garden Festival that year and, in 2016, went on international tour as part of the Victoria & Albert Museum’s blockbuster exhibition, You Say You Want a Revolution?
Kenwood is still under private ownership and few items – if any – survive from when Lennon lived there.
With The Beatles releasing their final song, Now and Then, in November 2023, the ‘Psychedelic Eye’ mosaic is an important artefact within The Beatles’ long history, as well as a visually arresting artwork commissioned by Lennon at the height of The Beatles’ popularity.
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Browse all lots in our auction—including the Beatles’ egg chair, drawings by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, photographs by Robert Rosen and much more—on 29 November in London, Knightsbridge.
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