October 9

October 9 is the birthdate of British musician and composer John Lennon. Art was one of Lennon's first loves. He began drawing long before he had a guitar, often sketching comical cartoons he included in his self-made school magazine, “The Daily Howl.” When he failed all his school exams, he managed to get accepted at the Liverpool College of Art, where he disrupted classes and ridiculed teachers. He was thrown out of the college before his final (third) year. In 1969 he created an infamous portfolio of erotic drawings, entitled "Bag One," which he gave to Yoko Ono as a wedding gift. He continued to draw, usually in a quasi-calligraphic style, until his assassination in 1980 at age 40. Pictured: a well-known self-portrait.