Ralph Wolfe Cowan’s first abstract portrait of Michael Jackson from 1993 and “Michael” by David Nordahl. Images from starcasm.com
Throughout his life, Michael Jackson spent a good chunk of his wealth amassing quite the interesting art collection. In addition to elaborate chess sets and ornamental lamps, the king of pop also had a penchant for collecting commissioned paintings of himself. The singer, who battled publicly with his self-image for his entire life, contracted a number of artists to make these bizarre paintings, which depict him as his favourite fabled characters. Many of these vanity artworks can be seen in “The Official Michael Jackson Opus: The Ultimate Celebration of an Icon”, an artbook that includes pieces by David Nordahl, Ralph Wolfe Cowan, Nate Giorgio, Céline Lavail and Leon Jones.
David Nordahl thought he was being pranked when he received a phone call requesting a portrait. Convinced only when Jackson described in detail a recent painting he had seen by him in Steven Spielberg’s office, the artists met and a partnership was formed. Quickly becoming Michael Jackson’s personal portraitist, David Nordahl spent nearly two decades illustrating the star. He created large-scale images showing Jackson as Peter Pan and Michelangelo’s “David” as well as painting “Field of Dreams”, which showed Jackson among children of all ethnicities (including his sister, Janet, and his friend Macaulay Culkin).
“‘Hello, this is Michael. I don’t like dogs,’ he said in a soft, gentle voice. ‘I like monkeys.'” – Ralph Wolfe Cowan
“The Storyteller” by David Nordahl. Image from hhhhappy.com
“He lived in a fantasy world and if he didn’t like something, you felt as if he could behead you. But the way he does it is by not calling you again. And somewhere along the line he stopped calling me and I thought I had been beheaded.” – Ralph Wolfe Cowan
Another man skeptical on approach was the self-taught artist, Leon Jones. His chance encounter with a member of Michael Jackson’s staff when airbrushing on the streets of Orlando led him to create two large murals for the Neverland train depot. With each piece towering at 15 feet high, the project took months to complete. The finished products show Jackson in knight’s armour and angel wings, surrounded by a sea of angelic youth.
Portsmouth-based artist Ralph Wolfe Cowan painted four portraits of Jackson – three of which were commissioned. One of the abstract portraits, which featured Jackson once again in a suit of armour, also included his pet monkey, Bubbles, and a few German Shepherds. “When I painted it, I had these dogs down in the bottom somewhere. German shepherds,” Wolfe Cowan said. “Michael Jackson called up his curator, who called the guy at the gallery, who called my business manager Steve (Mohler), and Steve told me Michael didn’t want the dogs in there. ‘Hello, this is Michael. I don’t like dogs,’ he said in a soft, gentle voice. ‘I like monkeys.'” Upon relaying the message that he didn’t like dogs, Jackson paid $30,000 for the painting (sans the German Shepherds) before the pair’s working relationship ceased. “He lived in a fantasy world and if he didn’t like something, you felt as if he could behead you,” said Cowen. “But the way he does it is by not calling you again. And somewhere along the line he stopped calling me and I thought I had been beheaded.”
The constant media attention surrounding Jackson oftentimes led to havoc in the spotlight. However, commissioning these works allowed him to reimagine his however he wanted. An attempt to skew the preconceived notions, these paintings allowed Jackson to be in control of his own likeness.
“Camelot” by David Nordahl. Image from hhhhappy.com