All works

1961, casein tempera on board, 39cm x 64cm

One of Johnson’s most sensuous and stylish compositions, and the earliest surviving Johnson's work using casein tempera paint which we have come across. Casein tempera paint was used by illustrators before the invention and availability of acrylic paint. This painting is an exceptional and very rare example of Johnson's early work. 

The painting was used for the cover of "A Crowd of Voices" the first full length novel by Richard Lortz, a highly regarded writer of short stories, novels, plays, and TV shows. His 1972 Broadway play 'Voices' was made into a film starring David Hemmings, Gayle Hunnicutt and Lynn Farleigh the following year. 

"A Crowd of Voices" was published by Four Square Books in the year it was acquired by Times Mirror Company of Los Angeles and re-branded as the National English Library (NEL), now a cult imprint of  1960s and 70s paperback pulp fiction.  

c.1961, casein tempera on board, 38cm x 51cm

A rare, early casein illustration for Woman’s Own – typical of the popular women’s romantic fiction of that time.

The male model used for this painting was Michael Johnsons friend and colleague, the hugely successful  illustrator Renato Fratini. 

1964 – 65, acrylic on board, 44cm x 45cm

Cover illustration for Highland Masquerade by Mary Elgin for Corgi Books. A romantic novel set the Scottish Highlands. Mary Elgin (1917-1965) wrote only three books that are known but is considered the closest thing to Mary Stewart. Her books are contemporary gothics with humour and charm.

c.1966, acrylic on board, 40cm x 59cm

Concept illustration for Willie Landels, Art Director and then Editor at Queen (now Harpers Bazaar) magazine. Johnson’s signature abstract lines add dynamism and a sense of movement to the couple.  This sculptural, animated quality was liked by Landels who had Nevertheless, he advised “more detail – more precision” if Johnson wanted to win more fashion illustration work.  Landels and Johnson developed a productive professional partnership

1963, Original artwork, acrylic on art board

Sanders drew the crowds at the entrance to the famous 24 hour race, before working up the piece later in his studio.

The original painting art board is approximately 76 cm wide x 50 cm tall. The artwork is float mounted on to conservation grade mountboard and presented in a white wooden box frame glazed with anti-reflective glass.

c.1969, acrylic on board    

Alongside painting, Johnson’s other passion is racing.  He had a driver’s contract with both Esso and Dunlop and drove Lotus cars competitively.  A huge admirer of John Surtees - still the only person to have won World Championships on both two and four wheels - Johnson depicts Surtees in the cockpit of Jim Hall’s 1969 Chaparral 2H.  Originally a Lola car designed by Eric Broadley but later used by Chaparral, it has the same chassis as the Ford GT40 noted for its Le Mans 24 Hours wins. Surtees raced this car during the 1969 Can-Am season.  Jim Hall (former race driver and part-owner of Chaparral) stands alongside the car beside a team mechanic.

The original painting is approximately 50 cm wide x 50 cm tall.The artwork is float mounted on to conservation grade mountboard and presented in a white wooden box frame glazed with anti-reflective glass.

c.1966, acrylic on board, 54cm x 61cm

Concept illustration. The double portrait shows Johnson’s technique to great effect with one of the faces a ghostly reflection of the other. His signature abstract lines give relief to the central portraits while the flower perfectly references late ‘60s vogue. The reverse of this illustration has a second image of twin nudes.

Renato Fratini, Freedom Observed, 1965, acrylic on board

Fontana Books published Gwyn Griffin’s novel, Freedom Observed, in 1965. Set in a fictional West African Republic about a United Nations observer who finds love amidst a gruelling conflict.  The gory narrative is represented in dark reds and browns, enlivened only by the pink blouse of the protagonist.

This artwork is sold with a copy of an original Freedom Observed paperback featuring the Fratini artwork. 

The original painting art board is approximately 40 cm wide x 55 cm tall. The artwork is float mounted on to conservation grade mountboard and presented in a white wooden box frame glazed with anti-reflective glass.

1960s, Original artwork, acrylic on art board

Illustration from a series 'Where were they then?' commissioned by the Sunday Times exploring little known moments in the lives of prominent persons.  At the age of 24 Ho Chi Minh, Vietnamese revolutionary leader, later Prime Minister and President of North Vietnam, claimed he worked under Escoffier at the Carlton Hotel Haymarket, London, as a junior pastry chef.

The original painting art board is approximately 57cm wide x 80cm tall. The artwork is float mounted on to conservation grade mountboard and presented in a white wooden box frame glazed with anti-reflective glass.

1960s, Original artwork, acrylic on art board

Illustration from a series 'Where were they then?' commissioned by the Sunday Times exploring little known moments in the lives of prominent persons.  Great British classical actress Edith Evans was apprenticed to a milliner aged fourteen.  During this time she attended her first drama classes. Other figures illustrated by Sanders in this series were: Len Deighton, Eugene McCarthy, Kramer Nkrumah, Sir Gerald Nabarro and Godfrey Winn.

The original painting art board is approximately 63cm wide x 51cm tall. The artwork is float mounted on to conservation grade mountboard and presented in a white wooden box frame glazed with anti-reflective glass.

1960s, Original artwork, acrylic on art board

This painting was created as a short story illustration for the USA edition of Good Housekeeping Magazine in the mid 1960s. The original art board is approximately 70cm wide x 50cm tall. 

The artwork is float mounted on to conservation grade mountboard and presented in a white wooden box frame glazed with anti-reflective glass.

Fratini produced a number of options for for Mickey Spillane’s Tiger Man novel; this is an option that didn’t make the final cut. Fratini used cool colours, perhaps to offset with the book’s graphics, whereas the final version was backed by red.   A different interpretation of the brief, perhaps influenced by the book’s title.

Gallery Print Edition

Professional high-resolution scan, colour adjusted to closely represent original artwork. Giclée print on 100% Cotton Rag ‘Hahnemühle’ 308gsm Fine Art Paper, using archival pigmented inks.

Paper Size 42cm x 29.7cm

Created from an original artwork; c.1967, gouache on board

1966, Original artwork, acrylic on art board

Sir Edmund Hillary established The Himalayan Trust in 1960, aimed at providing long-term solutions to social issues confronting the Nepalese Sherpas. This illustration accompanied the Readers Digest article describing the range of work undertaken by the Trust to help build health clinics, schools and the like.

The original painting art board is approximately 77cm wide x 46cm tall. The artwork is float mounted on to conservation grade mountboard and presented in a white wooden box frame glazed with anti-reflective glass.

1967, acrylic on board,  40 cm wide x 34 cm tall

Alistair MacLean’s 1961 thriller was republished by Fontana Books in 1967. Fratini depicted the ‘steel jungle’ oil-platform setting of the novel on a choppy ocean. The story of revenge is expressed in the struggle of the couple in the foreground.

The artwork is sold with an original Fear is the Key paperback that features the Fratini illustration.  

The original painting art board is approximately 40 cm wide x 34 cm tall. The artwork is float mounted on to conservation grade mountboard and presented in a white wooden box frame glazed with anti-reflective glass.

1964, acrylic on board

Fontana Books reprinted Alistair MacLean’s 1962 novel The Golden Rendezvous in 1964.  The macho hero raises a gun, he is dressed in white on a white background, so the red-clad woman he is protecting draws the eye. 

The original painting art board is approximately 45 cm wide x 34 cm tall. The artwork is float mounted on to conservation grade mountboard and presented in a white wooden box frame glazed with anti-reflective glass.

c. 1966, acrylic on board, 50cm x 26cm

Concept illustration. Johnson’s signature abstract lines from this series feature through the model’s body and the background circle also. 

Lever Gallery Artist Signed Limited Edition Print - FRAMED

Edition 20 (+ 5 artist's proofs) numbered and signed by the artist
Size approx 72cm wide x 56cm tall
Medium Professional high-resolution scan, colour adjusted to closely represent original artwork. Giclée print on 100% ‘Hahnemühle’ 308gsm Fine Art Paper, using archival pigmented inks.
This print is framed Print is float mounted on to conservation grade mount board and presented in a bespoke white wooden box frame glazed with anti-reflective glass.
Delivery Contact us regarding collection or delivery of framed pictures. 

The original artwork was an acrylic painting on art board, 1965. Our prints are made using a 5X4 transparency of the original work

Brian Sanders was commissioned by Stanley Kubrick to record the film being made and spent a year drawing and painting in Stage H at Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, England. 

The drawing shows Stanley Kubrick giving British photographer and film-maker Lord Snowden a guided tour of the set. Kubrick was highly protective of his work when under production but would occasionally show select people the set in action. 

2001: A Space Odyssey production designer Harry Lange had previously worked at NASA with Wernher von Braun and as a result the designs he created for the film required security clearance by NASA.  Designs similar to Lange's work would appear in actual NASA space missions over the following decades. The production design, the realistic light and dark of space and the slow movement of action in the film helped establish it as touchstone for most if not all 'space' films that were to follow over the coming decades. 

Lever Gallery carefully restored and scanned 50 year old 5'X4' and 10'X8' transparencies of Brian's original work, the actual drawings and paintings having been lost in a fire at Kubrick's house several years ago. The reproductions are the first time the public has been able to see again how the film was made, the dedication of Kubrick and the crew plus the highly innovative techniques used to create such convincing scenes of weightlessness in space.

Lever Gallery Artist Signed Limited Edition Print

Edition 20 (+ 5 artist's proofs) numbered and signed by the artist
Size approx 51 cm X 68 cm  
Medium Professional high-resolution scan, colour adjusted to closely represent original artwork. Giclée print on 100% Cotton Rag ‘Hahnemühle’ 308gsm Fine Art Paper, using archival pigmented inks.

If you would like further information regarding prints or framing please contact us info@levergallery.com

The original artwork was an acrylic painting on art board, 1965. Our prints are made using a 5X4 transparency of the original work

Illustration of the filming of the Moon Pit scene.

Brian Sanders was commissioned by Stanley Kubrick to record the film being made and spent a year drawing and painting in Stage H at Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, England. 

2001: A Space Odyssey production designer Harry Lange had previously worked at NASA with Wernher von Braun and as a result the designs he created for the film required security clearance by NASA.  Designs similar to Lange's work would appear in actual NASA space missions over the following decades. The production design, the realistic light and dark of space and the slow movement of action in the film helped establish it as touchstone for most if not all 'space' films that were to follow over the coming decades. 

Lever Gallery lovingly restored and scanned 50 year old 5'X4' and 10'X8' transparencies of Brian's original work, the actual drawings and paintings having been lost in a fire at Kubrick's house several years ago. The reproductions are the first time the public has been able to see again how the film was made, the dedication of Kubrick and the crew plus the highly innovative techniques used to create such convincing scenes of weightlessness in space.

Lever Gallery Artist Signed Limited Edition Print

Edition 20 (+ 5 artist's proofs) numbered and signed by the artist
Size approx 76 cm wide x 91 cm tall
Medium Professional high-resolution scan, colour adjusted to closely represent original artwork. Giclée print on 100% ‘Hahnemühle’ 308gsm Fine Art Paper, using archival pigmented inks.

The original artwork was a mixed media collage on art board, 1965. Our prints are made using a 5X4 transparency of the original work

Brian Sanders was commissioned by Stanley Kubrick to record the film being made and spent a year drawing and painting in Stage H at Shepperton Film Studios, England. 

2001: A Space Odyssey production designer Harry Lange had previously worked at NASA with Wernher von Braun and as a result the designs he created for the film required security clearance by NASA.  Designs similar to Lange's work would appear in actual NASA space missions over the following decades. The production design, the realistic light and dark of space and the slow movement of action in the film helped establish it as touchstone for most if not all 'space' films that were to follow over the coming decades. 

Lever Gallery lovingly restored and scanned 50 year old 5'X4' and 10'X8' transparencies of Brian's original work, the actual drawings and paintings having been lost in a fire at Kubrick's house several years ago. The reproductions are the first time the public has been able to see again how the film was made, the dedication of Kubrick and the crew plus the highly innovative techniques used to create such convincing scenes of weightlessness in space.

 LEVER GALLERY can organise framing of prints. If you would like further information regarding prints or framing please contact us info@levergallery.com

Lever Gallery Artist Signed Limited Edition Print

Edition 20 (+ 5 artist's proofs) numbered and signed by the artist
Size approx 81 cm X 65 cm  
Medium Professional high-resolution scan, colour adjusted to closely represent original artwork. Giclée print on 100% ‘Hahnemühle’ 308gsm Fine Art Paper, using archival pigmented inks.

If you would like further information regarding prints or framing please contact us info@levergallery.com

The original artwork was an acrylic painting on art board, 1965. Our prints are made using a 5X4 transparency of the original work

Illustration of the filming of the Moon Pit scene.

Brian Sanders was commissioned by Stanley Kubrick to record the film being made and spent a year drawing and painting in Stage H at Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, England. 

2001: A Space Odyssey production designer Harry Lange had previously worked at NASA with Wernher von Braun and as a result the designs he created for the film required security clearance by NASA.  Designs similar to Lange's work would appear in actual NASA space missions over the following decades. The production design, the realistic light and dark of space and the slow movement of action in the film helped establish it as touchstone for most if not all 'space' films that were to follow over the coming decades. 

Lever Gallery lovingly restored and scanned 50 year old 5'X4' and 10'X8' transparencies of Brian's original work, the actual drawings and paintings having been lost in a fire at Kubrick's house several years ago. The reproductions are the first time the public has been able to see again how the film was made, the dedication of Kubrick and the crew plus the highly innovative techniques used to create such convincing scenes of weightlessness in space.