Food For London Now: Which star will you bid for in Sir Peter Blake’s big hotel cover auction?

Mandarin Oriental artwork to be sold off square by celebrity square to boost Felix Project You can bid HERE

Sections of Sir Peter Blake’s artwork Our Fans, which features the likes of Dame Helen Mirren and Dame Maggie Smith, are being auctioned off to raise money for the Standard’s Food For London Now campaign.

The mural — which echoes Sir Peter’s 1967 artwork for The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album — was draped over the London Mandarin Oriental hotel in Knightsbridge during its 2017 renovation.

The work, the largest piece ever created by Sir Peter, 87, is the size of 38 London buses and was commissioned by London Advertising.

Starting today, each of the 100 faces that feature in the work — also including Morgan Freeman, Whoopi Goldberg and two Beatles, Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Ringo Starr — will be auctioned off for two beneficiaries, including the Standard’s Food For London Now appeal partner The Felix Project.

Biggest work: Sir Peter Blake's mural, which was used to cover the Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge as part of its refurb (Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for Mandarin Oriental)
Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for M

The other beneficiary is the Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organisation, powered by the United Nations Foundation and Swiss Philanthropy Foundation.

Each “fragment” will feature a celebrity’s face and will measure about 1.2 by 2 metres. All the famous faces, including a picture of Sir Peter, are “fans” of the Mandarin Oriental hotel group.

Each fragment will be signed by the artist and auctioned on Bidsquare, with bids starting at £325. The auction will be live until midnight on June 26.

The idea originated when London Advertising approached Sir Peter about the project as it wanted to use the mural to raise money for organisations helping people during the pandemic.

Sir Peter, who also designed artwork for Paul Weller, Ian Dury and The Who, said: “I’m very happy that the Mandarin Oriental mural can be used a second time to raise money for such a wonderful purpose. I do all kinds of areas of work but one of them is to make crowds of people.

Sir Peter signs one of the squares from his mural

“It is in that vein. It is in the spirit of the Sergeant Pepper idea. This is probably the largest thing I’ve done. It was an amazing project for an amazing hotel.”

London Advertising CEO Michael Moszynski said: “If you would like to own a unique piece of cultural history by the grandfather of pop art, I would very much encourage you to bid generously.”

Jill Kluge, chief marketing officer for Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, added: “We are delighted to support this idea to auction Peter Blake’s fine work of art for another good cause.”

Evgeny Lebedev, proprietor of the Evening Standard and Independent said: “I have been moved by how art and artists have acted as a force for good during this crisis. Sir Peter Blake has been a brilliant supporter of our charity appeal. I hope people support this extraordinary initiative.”

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