Overview
- The drawings, which collector Joseph Robert O'Donnell bought at a London auction, went on public display at the Liverpool Beatles Museum on Thursday, June 4.
- The works are part of a sequence of around 240 individual animation ‘cells’ created with artist Stephen Verona that each carry a word from The Beatles’ ‘I Feel Fine’ and were used to make a short two‑minute promotional film.
- The film made from the cells screened at festivals and at MoMA, won awards including a CINE Golden Eagle, and the original reel is held by the Library of Congress while the paper drawings were kept by Verona until a 2000 Christie’s sale dispersed the set.
- Coverage differs on how many original sheets are on view — several outlets report a full reunion of the 240 cells while others confirm a smaller selection of ten pieces — and O'Donnell has said he plans to sell the works in future but loaned them so fans could see them together.
- The display gives scholars and fans short-term access to a rare Beatles artifact and may prompt renewed interest from museums and collectors in the provenance, market value, and archival reunification of the dispersed trove.