This monumental mosaic, commissioned directly by John Lennon and adorning the deep end wall of his swimming pool at Kenwood, is a striking example of the Beatle's artistic vision and influences. The mosaic was most likely based on one of John's own designs, perhaps one of his cartoons, the original for which has not survived. Intriguingly, John had also designed a pool mosaic for George Harrison in the mid-1960s, an enlarged version of a cartoon from Lennon'sΒ In His Own Write. The location of the mosaic meant that it could be seen from outside Kenwood's sunroom, and would have served as an area of calm and respite from the relentless public attention he experienced. The mosaic can be seen in numerous photographs of John next to his pool from this time [...]
On the 29th June 1967, John was visited at Kenwood by Johnny Dean and Leslie Bryce, the editor and photographer ofΒ The Beatles MonthlyΒ respectively. John and Julian Lennon were photographed in and around the house, including several beside the swimming pool with the mosaic in the shot. In one image, John, deep in thought, perches alone atop a diving board with the mosaic visible below him, the top that he is seen wearing is believed to be the same one he had worn for the launch of the Sgt Pepper album. In another, John sits with his son Julian outside the sunroom with the pool and its mosaic behind them. The visit ended by the pool where, as Beatles biographer Hunter Davies confirmed, John would spend idle hours in contemplative silence. The lush colours and expressive visual design are a prime example of Lennon's taste by 1967, as shown by his richly decorated psychedelic piano and Rolls Royce also kept at the time.
Referenced in media over the years as either the 'Psychedelic Eye', the 'Magic Eye', or 'The Eye Of Knowledge', the mosaic was also completed two years before John first met Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and therefore predates such links to the eastern philosophies explored by members of The Beatles.
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