Tales of walking, eating, watching and playing. Vintage treasures and simple pleasures ... the things that make her happy.

Monday 23 July 2012

Tina

I was lucky enough to pick up an iconic print last week.

Tina – this sultry beauty was a familiar sight in many a 1960s home.  She raised the blood pressure of numerous males … the father of a good friend had a ‘Tina’ hanging in his shed and I remember my uncle had one in his garage.
 
Tina was painted in 1961 by the virtually unknown Bristish artist Joseph Henry Lynch.  She became an instant hit when she went on sale in Boots (UK) three years later.   

She appeared in the 1971 cult classic ‘A Clockwork Orange’ ...
... and thirty years later her face appeared on the cover of Edwyn Collin’s hit single,
 ‘A Girl Like You’.  
She can be found framed under glass with a gilt frame or without glass in the more popular, at the time, cream frame.  The copy I have has the original cream frame and is still in great condition. 

 After the huge success of ‘Tina’, Lynch went on to produce many more prints, all of dark, exotic, voluptuous, scantily clad beauties, often in woodland settings, all of which have become prized by Lynch collectors.  
The prints sold in the hundreds of thousands.

Unbelievably, for an artist who had such huge appeal nothing more is known of him (or her … some people did question whether he may even have been a woman).  There is no information on his life, where he came from, his family … nothing.  As a protagonist of mass market art it is hard to believe that so little is known about him.

Lynch died in 1989, aged 78.  
Sadly, at the end of his life he destroyed many of his original paintings and donated the remaining few to charity.

A gallery of his paintings can be found here .

Tina will be coming to the Buttercross Vintage Market on September 8th.


17 comments:

Flaming Nora said...

Ahhh Tina, she kind of sums up the 1970's really.
Fab print, Makes me think of the crying boy that my great Aunt had on her wall. Not as racy but equally caught in its time!

In My Wild Eden said...

I have never seen this . The story is very interesting. Thank you for sharing it.

Jane and Lance Hattatt said...

Hello Marina:
Oh how we remember Tina, the hit of the 1960s and 1970s and hung with prominence in many a 'living room' the length and breadth of England in her day.

Amazing what one could and still can buy in Boots!!!

Outcast said...

Oh wow Jane, this is amazing. A few months ago I went to Greyabbey, a nearby village and we were in an antiques store and I seen a painting like this and fell in love. Every day after I'd constantly tell myself that I would go back and buy the painting but for various reasons I never got around to it and by now it's probably gone which makes me extremely sad.

Congratulations on getting this peace Jane, it looks fantastic and it's great to read more about these types of paintings because I never knew their history when I seen the one I saw.

Vix said...

I've got two Tinas! I thought I'd pushed the boat out when I paid £12 for her on eBay only to find another at a car boot sale a week later for £2. x

Rustic Vintage Country said...

Fascinating story, thanks x

Tangled Sweetpea said...

I have seen Tina so many times in various places but it was lovely to know a bit of the background, thank you for sharing!
Victoria xx

Anonymous said...

I remember going to the movies and watching that movie but for some reason "Tina" doesn't stand out but then again I had trouble figuring out what that movie really was all about? HA

I'm sure she will bring a pretty penny at the Vintage Market...I'll say one thing, she is sure a beauty!

Jen said...

She's fabulous! Such a fun post.

Helga said...

O,score!!! She's lovely! X

Shortbread and Ginger said...

She is one of those iconic images. I remember a few folk who had this picture in their homes.
Liz @ Shortbread & Ginger

Maria said...

Hello!
I am a child from this era and can remember this print....
I think my mother in law had one of these pictures in her home,years ago..
I found the information really interesting to hear and can't believe he destroyed many of these painting before he passed!
Enjoyed this post!!
Love Maria x
Awww found you through Isobel's blog!!

...Nina Nixon... said...

You did make me giggle at the very thought of 'Tina' raising male mens blood pressures.

Nina x

Miss Simmonds Says said...

I've got a great book all about Tina and her mass market print friends, it's called "just above the mantelpiece". Before I owned the book I turned down both a J H Lynch and a Tretchikoff for pittance. ARGH

Anne said...

I remember Tina well from my mum and dads friend s houses in the sixties.There was another one I remember too, I think it was a couple and they looked as if they were coming out of a swan-do you know the one I mean?

Unknown said...

Oh wow! You lucky thing. I would love a Tina. I have a beautiful Louis Shabner lady but I would love to get my hands on a Tina or any of Lynch's ladies. xx

nick said...

I know a bit about Lynch and own 23 original paintings bought via his daughter. They are not prints and are stunning, the colours being vivid, not wishy washy like some prints, the definition is far more sharp too.