Johnny Depp is turning his attention from the camera to the canvas once again as he prepares to sell a self-portrait at UK galleries.
Titled ‘Five’, the piece, which pays homage to a photograph taken for his 2015 Dior Sauvage campaign, was initially conceived in the studio of his friend Ralph Steadman in 2021 as he “entered the fifth year of a challenging period in his life.”
A press release for his artwork announcement also cites that, “He immersed himself in creating the work as a means of creative healing” before revisiting the self-portrait again in 2023.
Initially reluctance to release the painting, the Hollywood star said, “It’s not the most comfortable thing doing a self-portrait” but hopes the artwork will inspire others.
He added: “If the piece resonates with even just one person, this art has purpose.”
The artwork is described as an “uniquely personal insight into Johnny’s innermost feelings and emotions” while Depp said chose this particular image in honour of Dior and the “loyalty they’ve always shown him”.
The debut self-portrait will be sold as a time-limited edition from 20 July for 13 days only and priced from £1,950.
However a portion of every print sold will go directly to Mental Health America, an organisation which Depp described as “a wonderful facility and an extremely deserving cause; they do a lot of great work there.”
The artwork is available to buy online and in nationwide UK galleries at Castle Fine Art - that includes a gallery in Covent Garden.
His latest work comes after his highly successful ‘Friends & Heroes’ series in which he sold portraits of Heath Ledger, Bob Marley, River Phoenix and Hunter S. Thompson for £17,500 ($21,000).
The portraits were also made available individually for $5,400 each when they first went on sale back in March but quickly sold out.
Elsewhere, Depp is focusing on resurrecting his acting career following two high-profile legal battles with his ex-wife Amber Heard, after she publicly accused him of domestic abuse. - that he has always denied.
After losing a libel battle in the UK against British tabloid The Sun, who called him a “wife beater” in a column, he won a second libel trial against Heard in Virginia last year.
