A painting by contemporary artist Philip Colbert has been auctioned off to raise money for scholarships at St. Andrews University.
The painting, titled ‘The Death of Marat and the Birth of The Lobster,’ went under the hammer at Lyon & Turnbull in Edinburgh. The proceeds went towards funding scholarships for the new Museum and Heritage Studies course at St. Andrews.
Philip Colbert Lobster Painting
Colbert was a student at St. Andrews himself and studied Philosophy. He is known predominantly for his use of cartoon lobsters in his work, and is often referred to as the ‘godson of Andy Warhol.’
The Death of Marat and the Birth of The Lobster
Jean-Paul Marat, the famous French revolutionary, also graduated from St. Andrews. In 1793, he was murdered by Charlotte Corday in his bath. That same year, Marat’s friend, David, created his famous painting, ‘The Death of Marat.’
Colbert’s piece, ‘The Death of Marat and the Birth of The Lobster’ shows a lobster scrolling through a smart phone in the bath, whilst wearing fried egg-patterned pyjamas.
Bidding for the painting started at £20,000, with the piece eventually selling for £27,700.
‘The Death of Marat and the Birth of The Lobster’ is described by Lyon & Turnbull as ‘a distillation of formative experiences and themes that shaped Colbert’s artistic development, the trigger points of his extraordinarily imaginative creative world.’
Philip Colbert Auction For St Andrews
Alex Hayes, Head of Development for the Arts & Divinity at the uni, spoke to Head of Contemporary and Post-War Art at Lyon & Turnbull Charlotte Riordan about the painting. He said that donating the money from the auction was ‘a wonderful thing’ for Colbert to do.
Hayes said: ‘Philip very kindly agreed that he would sell this work at auction and all the proceeds being donated to scholarships at the university.
‘The financial support that will be derived from the sale of this work, thanks to Philip’s generosity, will really help those people as they embark on their career change into that world,’ he continued.