DOORS / JIM MORRISON'S 1ST GIRLFRIEND - MARY WERBELOW FRAMED ART DRAWING LOT #8

Description

[JIM MORRISON, THE DOORS, MARY WERBELOW]
On offer here is
AN ORIGINAL , FRAMED PENCIL / GRAPHITE DRAWING BY
MARY WERBELOW, JIM MORRISON'S 1ST GIRLFRIEND (1962 - 1965)
.
The large, pencil /graphite drawing measures 30 in x 40 in and is in excellent condition. The wood frame housing the drawing measures 32.5 in x 42.5 in. This drawing is signed at the lower right.
The image depicts an older woman than Mary typically rendered and may have been a commission.
IT IS THE LARGEST WORK IN PENCIL / CHARCOAL
we've seen done by Mary and that we've acquired. It is also the quite possibly the BEST TECHNICAL work by Mary we've seen.
This is in our opinion, is Mary Werbelow at the height of her artistic powers
.
All of the work we acquired created by Mary Werbelow seems to have been completed in the 1970's. She took photos and promoted her work back then and many of those slides & photos are dated in the 70's. We know from her biographical information she contracted an illness in the 1980s and discontinued her art creation by that time.
(
IF A BUYER WOULD LIKE THE WORK SHIPPED WITHOUT THE FRAME TO SAVE SHIPPING EXPENSE, PLEASE LET US KNOW
. This would substantially reduce shipping costs both domestically and internationally - contact us for a quote prior to buying.)
______________________________
Mary Werbelow is / was (we are unaware of her current status) famously private if not reclusive. She has shunned attention and ever since she and Jim broke up in 1965, she has seemed to be fleeing the discomfort and malcontent of their relationship ending.
Mary first went to India, then came back to America and then lived in Hawaii for a number of years. Mary continued her work as a professional artist a gift she seems to have had for her whole life. She was able to maintain herself as a working artist during and after her two marriages, until she was stricken with MCS (multiple chemical sensitivity) disorder. She apparently acquired this illness as a result of the misuse of an pesticide in the building where her art studio was located.
She received a monetary settlement in the 1980's which enabled her to survive for a number of years, but at some point those funds became exhausted and she fell on hard times. Mary also was challenged with other health issues some of which resulted in surgeries and additional treatment.
What we know of Mary's life is really only gleaned from two primary sources. A 2005 interview she granted Robert Farley of the Tampa Bay Times ('
Mary & Jim To The End'
- September 25, 2005) and her brief contact with an old friend Bill Cosgrave and detailed in his book '
Love Her Madly - Jim Morrison, Mary and Me
' (Dundurn, 2020). It does not appear Mary ever sought to gain fame or income from her relationship with Jim. In fact, we learned Mary on TWO occasions refused significant money from filmmaker Oliver Stone for her story in preparation for his 1991 film '
The Doors
' starring Val Kilmer.
Provenance:
This group is from the effects of
Ms. Mary Werbelow. Mary is well known as the 1st and arguably most important girlfriend of the Rock & Roll icon, Jim Morrison of the 1960's music group 'The Doors'.
It is the opinion of several personal friends of Jim & Mary and objective observers that the summer 1965 breakup of Jim & Mary began a chain of events that not only formed the foundation of the Doors music but also set up the two different life trajectories for Jim & Mary which left them both unfulfilled in their personal relationships which initiated Jim's drug abuse and ultimately his death in 1971.
Ms. Werbelow's effects were lost in a storage unit auction. We acquired a selection of personal items and artwork produced by Mary from her career as a professional artist.
Please email any questions -