Johnny Depp sells over £4.5 million of art in less than a week

Johnny Depp’s second release of his Friends & Heroes collection has exceeded sales of his record first collection last July, with over £4.5 million of art sold in just one week. The collection of limited-edition pieces by the acclaimed actor and artist were released last week in the UK by Castle Fine Art and feature actors Heath Ledger and River Phoenix, writer Hunter S. Thompson, and musician Bob Marley, the first three of whom were friends of Johnny, with Bob Marley as a personal inspiration.

“I didn’t believe it, it didn’t make sense to me,” said Johnny about his triumph in an interview with Castle Fine Art. “I’m obviously really touched that people wanted to look a little further outside of my day job as it were, investigating some of the imagery that interests me.

“Hopefully it brought those friends and heroes of mine out in the way that I see them, and the same with the second volume of Friends & Heroes.”

“I’d like to see these four people together,” said Johnny about his new subjects. “It would be fascinating. All legends, absolutely.”

“River and Heath didn’t have enough time on this earth, but in the time that they did have, they certainly planted their individuality, their uniqueness, their world, their heart, their emotions, their sense of humour out there into the world so we know them, so they said a lot in their short lives.

“Hunter, of course, had a bit more time on the planet than some of those guys, and

This collection of four limited edition prints is the second release of Depp’s Friends & Heroes series (the first sold out for £3.5 million last July)

The collection features Bob Marley, Heath Ledger, River Phoenix & Hunter S. Thompson

The pieces have been sold through leading UK contemporary art gallery, Castle Fine Art and have attracted an international audience of buyers and collectors

Each artwork is priced at £4,500 or £17,500 for the set of four his voice will always live through his books as Heath and River will always live through their films, and Bob through his music.”

Johnny has always been an artist but has taken some time to reveal his pieces to the public. He explained: “For many years, I really held myself strictly to just the day job of the film business, even though in my heart and forever I’ve been a musician, and I’ve always needed to escape into a blank piece of paper, whether it be writing, drawing or painting a blank canvas. Tackling something for the first time with no idea of what’s about to commence and what it will come out to be is deeply fulfilling.

“When I just decided not to limit myself anymore and go public with my art, I thought that if people go for it that’s great and if not, that’s alright too. But it seemed for the most part to be a very positive reaction to these strange things I have put on canvas. Art has always been part of my life, so for people to actually see this stuff now for the first time, to react the way that they have so positively to whatever I have made is very moving. I’m glad they are interested.

“The first time I ever saw them all together presented at Castle Fine Art (Johnny’s first pieces were Keith Richards, Bob Dylan, Elizabeth Taylor and Al Pacino) there was something kind of lyrical. I felt the relationship between them all for the first time and the feeling was a lot stronger that I imagined it would be. Primarily what I liked about it was how they all worked together.

“I was really looking forward to having another crack at it with other friends and heroes - simply for me to be able to say thank you to all those people for having either been in my life, been a part of my life or having affected me to the degree that they have.”