Marilyn Manson paintings

From the beginning Manson has been a recreational painter, the oldest of his surviving pieces dating back to 1995-1996, but it was after his 1998 Grey period that Manson began his career as a watercolour painter. In 1999 he made five-minute concept pieces and sold them to drug dealers with their knowledge that they would accumulate in value over time. Gradually Manson became more drawn to watercolors as an art form in itself, and instead of trading them, kept them and continued to paint at a proficient rate.

This manic creativity resulted in an exhibit for his art, The Golden Age of Grotesque, held at the Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions Centre on between September 13 and 14, 2002. The reaction to his paintings was largely positive with one critic comparing them to Egon Schele's pieces and describing them as heartfelt and sincerely painted, and Art in America went as far as to liken them to the works of a 'psychiatric patient given materials to use as therapy'. Others however saw less merit in the works stating that the value was in the celebrity.

Two years later almost to the day, during September 14 and 15, 2004, Manson held his second exhibit on the first night in Paris and the second in Berlin, Trismegistus, which was also the title of the center piece of the exhibit – a large three headed Christ painted onto an antique wood panel. Again the reception to the works could be described as mixed but was largely in favour of the artist.

Manson opened his own an art gallery, The Celebritarian Corporation Gallery of Fine Art, on October 31, 2006 in Los Angeles for which his third exhibition (by invitation or appointment only after the opening night) was the inaugural show. From April 2-17, 2007 Manson's recent works were be on show at the Space 39 Modern & Contemporary in Florida.

A coffee table art book is in the works, initially titled The Death of Art. The last given title was Quintif. It will be published by the makers of Flaunt magazine.

40 pieces from this show were ported to the Gallery Brigitte Schenk in Cologne, Germany to be publicly exhibited from June 28 until July 28, 2007. After this they will return to the Space39 Modern & Contemporary Gallery thus leaving Manson's own gallery in Los Angeles temporarily without his own work until 2008.

The price of Manson's works has been a somewhat controversial point for fans and critics alike, with most fans realistically unable to afford the paintings save for fine art editions and lithographs. Manson's prices though are realistic and reasonable considering the long-term value at a time when prices for contemporary art have never been higher.

At his first exhibition and on the accompanying website the least expensive pieces, tellingly those of ex-girlfriend Rose McGowan were priced at $1,500. Small original pieces below and also conforming to Manson's usual 30×22 size were priced between $5,000 and $10,000. Exceptions to this were the two-paneled painting Vicodin ($25,000), a 47×33 self-portrait from The Grey Series ($15,000), A Daughter Without a Mother and a Mother Without a Daughter ($20,000), Skoptic Syndrome ($15,000), The Death of Art ($20,000), the 40×60 The Gentle Thinker (priced at 40×60 it was purchased by the actor Nicholas Cage), Hysterical Paraplegic (a three-paneled piece, priced at and sold for $50,000), Anaclitism ($15,000) and two Elizabeth Short pieces priced at $45,000 and $50,000 respectively.

When new paintings were added to the website for sale in late 2003 their prices somewhat reflected Manson's success and also his growing skill. Vampyr was priced at $30,000, Hitler Takes a Nap at $10,000 (though they were of identical dimensions), Experience Is the Mistress of Fools (sold for $35,000, and was used as the cover for Lest We Forget (The Best Of))+

and the two Jon Benet paintings were priced at $30,000 each.

The Golden Age of Grotesque (September 13-14, 2002), Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions Center

The Golden Age of Grotesque was Manson’s first exhibiton. The most expensive paintings on sale were priced at $100,000, the cheapest originals were those of ex-fiance Rose McGowan. Exhibited were paintings completed from 1998 and Manson’s grey period through to early 2002. These included:

When I Get Old, The Gentle Thinker, Pygobombe, Boy Magnet, We’re On God’s Side (18x24), The Enabler, Skotpic Syndrome (Jack), A Mother Without A Daughter And A Daughter Without A Mother, Lily White, John The Beaten, No One’s Listening, Easter Sunday, Harlequin Jack And The Absinthe Bunny, Oedipus, Miracle Mile, Kempf’s Disease, Fibonacci, Vincent Gallo, King Zane (14x20), Self-Portrait, Trainables, Mediations On Hunting, By Any Other Name, Whore Knuckles (14x20), Liar, Death Enjoys The Fruits Of His Labor, Lecheuse (14x20), Sympathy Generator, Ubermensch, Prone To Epelipsy, Littler Perishers (14x20), Everyday It Hurts To Wake Up, Statue Of Limitations, Dysmorphobia, Did I Introduce You To My Other Personality?, Vicodin, Hand Of Glory, Sissyphus, Crop Failure, Dita, Grey Daisy, Faunadestia, The Eve Of Destruction, I Don’t Like The Drugs, Last Day On Earth (18x24), Pregenital Influences, Sunny Day In The Fields Of Rape (18x24), Die Deutsche Kampferin (40x60), Hysterical Paraplegic, Analclitism, Skincoat and a triptych The Elizabeth Short Series comprising A Smile, You’re Sure You Will Be Comfortable and And Now A Special Sort Of Death For One So Fair.

The critical reaction to Manson’s inaugral exhibition was mixed but somewhat positive:

"I have to admit, I liked them more than I thought I would. Some of them are naive in a way, but some of them are beautiful, quite brilliant. They seem very detached, a little bit sorrowful. They definitely aren't about happiness.

If you saw these painting without his name, you'd take a second look. But I don't think his work will stand up to the kind of scrutiny that's going to happen if he shows them in a gallery." -Patrick Li, art editor for Self Service

"I get the feeling these are therapeutic images. They remind me of the paintings drawn by psychiatric patients, when they're given art materials to use as therapy. There, you see a lot of demons, and in Manson's work I see in it a little bit of those demons, too. He's got a very dark take on life.

They might sell for thousands of dollars, but that's because people associate fame with a worth. People would come to see his show probably in droves, but his work would never be taken seriously in a fine-art context. The value is in their celebrity, but not in the work." -Max Henry, Art in America

"I think they're very heartfelt. They remind me a little of Egon Schiele, but he's definitely bringing in his own Marilyn Manson thing, which is nice to see." -Camille Rose Garcia, artist

"As you'd expect, Marilyn's pictures are typically dark and yet surprisingly rich in color and texture." -yahoo.com

"Perhaps the most shocking thing about the paintings is how incredibly proficient they are. This is not just a celebrity capitalizing on a hobby." -MTV News

Trismegistus (September 14-15, 2004), Paris / Berlin

Manson’s second exhibition largely comprised of paintings from The Golden Age of Grotesque been given a European debut. They were joined by a handful of new paintings: Experience Is The Mistress Of Fools, Scald Not Your Lips In Another Man’s Pottage, Masquerade, the titular Trismegistus (painted on an 19th century wood embalming table), The Death Of Art, Vampyr, Hitler Takes A Nap and another series of paintings Jon Benet Ramsey As Sleeping Beauty.

Marilyn Manson: The Celebritarian Corporation Gallery of Fine Art, Los Angeles

The October 31 public opening of Manson’s own gallery in Los Angeles provided the opportunity for the first physical exhbition of his newest works. These included:

Angelina Nude, Angelina (both portraits of actress Angelina Jolie), Les Fleurs du mal, Someone Should Put Hearts Over Her Eyes (Portrait for Evan Rachel Wood), Ready Or Not Tot, Aliester, Morning, Afternoon, Night (a triptych known as ‘The Days Of Our Lies’ series), Pretty Persuasion, ‘Eventually They Discovered That JFK Was, in fact, a Firearm’, Inner Self Portrait, April Fool, Tilda (a portrait of actress Tilda Swinton), Yellow Daisy, Rosario, Alice, ‘The Moment I Became Edgar I Suddenly Realized I Was In Hell’ (22x30), Each Morning She Would Pray That Demons Would Devour Her Parents (14x20), The Tweaker, Do I Have To Do Everything For You? (14x20), ‘The three-legged dog from Bangladesh’ (a portrait of Manson’s friend and late Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson), Social Lubricant, Valentine’s Day, Portrait of Tim, Mouth For War, The RGB Series (another triptch), The Green Whore Of Love (again a tryptich dating back to early 2001 but exhibted for the first time), Twinz, I’ve Got My Arm Around No One and Trigger-Finger.

Recent Works (March 31 – April 31, 2007), Space 39 Modern & Contemporary Gallery

Manson’s first retrospective exhibition provided the public with an opportunity to witness his latest and more advanced works. Additions not shown intially at the Gallery of Fine Art include: A Burnt Child Dreads Fire, Pornography Becomes A Sport, The Man Who Eats His Fingers (painted in part with charmomille tea), The Apple Falls Far, Lunchtime Came Too Late For Lau Su and Don’t Look At Me When I’m Trying To Conentrate, Untitled I and Untitled II (both studies in acrylic painting depicting small poritons of Manson’s face).