ALLEN JONES, R.A. (B. 1937)

The present work is a projected finale for Kenneth Tynan’s notorious, risqué theatrical cabaret The Empress's New Clothes, Oh Calcutta, which debuted off-Broadway in 1969, and then in the West End in 1970. The title is a play on the French ‘O, quel cul tu as’ (‘O, what an arse you have’), and the show sparked considerable controversy at the time due to its extended scenes of total nudity. Sketches were written by, among others, Samuel Beckett, John Lennon and Sam Shepard, and Tynan also commissioned Pauline Boty to make a series of paintings of erogenous zones on which the revue would be based. The completed painting (her final work) BUM, sold in these Rooms, 22 November 2017, lot 4.