# My dad painted the iconic cover for Jethro Tull’s ‘Aqualung,’ and it’s haunted him ever since



## Paco Dennis (Aug 1, 2021)

Very interesting story on how this artist was ripped off by the record company for selling his 3 paintings for the cover of "AquaLung"...

_"Sometimes, my father, Burton Silverman, age 89, has trouble remembering certain things. He worries about this. My mother, a psychologist, 79, worries even more, parsing his speech patterns and emails for any clinical signs of cognitive impairment. He always hand waves away these concerns, partly for our benefit and partly because there is little to be done.

But as some details — the name of a former friend, where he last stashed his wallet — seem to fall just beyond his fingertips, dad’s focus has turned towards something less definable: his career. More to the point, the end of a career that has seen him become one of the more prominent realist painters of his time. And yet, for all the artwork he’s created, the accolades and awards, it bothers him, in a way he can’t really express and may not want to recognize, that one of the first lines in his obituary will mention a “throwaway gig,” from the winter of 1970: the artwork for Jethro Tull’s best-known and best-selling album, Aqualung.

Seven million copies of Aqualung have been sold over the last five-odd decades and the cover has become one of the most recognizable in rock and roll history, migrating from vinyl albums to cassettes, CDs, and iTunes art, plus an unending supply of Aqualung-embossed merchandise. But dad’s earnings had a hard cap. In 1971, Terry Ellis, the co-founder of Chrysalis Records, paid him a flat $1,500 fee for the three paintings which would comprise the album’s artwork, consummating the deal with nothing more than a handshake. No written contractual agreement was drawn up, and, much to his eventual dismay, nor was any determination made about future use."
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10 minute Read

Aqualung Painting


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## win231 (Aug 1, 2021)

I bought that album as soon as it came out.  I didn't pay much attention to the artwork; I never did because I was always more interested in the music.
I don't really understand why your father didn't draw up a contract for the artwork if he wanted to be compensated fairly.  At the time he did it, he should have known better than to have a contract on a handshake.


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## hollydolly (Aug 1, 2021)

win231 said:


> I bought that album as soon as it came out.  I didn't pay much attention to the artwork; I never did because I was always more interested in the music.
> I don't really understand why your father didn't draw up a contract for the artwork if he wanted to be compensated fairly.  At the time he did it, he should have known better than to have a contract on a handshake.


it's not Dennis 's father...it's a story from  an external link....


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## win231 (Aug 1, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> it's not Dennis 's father...it's a story from  an external link....


Oh........I see.


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## Lara (Aug 16, 2021)

win231 said:


> I don't really understand why [he] didn't draw up a contract for the artwork if he wanted to be compensated fairly.  At the time he did it, he should have known better than to have a contract on a handshake.


Because ....some people, by nature or by upbringing, are just more trusting than others. Snakes in the grass are experts when acting like they're your best buddy...not. People are born with varying degrees of intelligence. It's not easy for us who have gifts in other areas. Many gentle kind souls of yesteryear trusted that everyone was as sweet as they were

Today we're all more educated about scams.
There are online reviews for everything (although some of those are competitors acting as dissatisfied customers)

The victim should be sympathized with, not belittled

The artist (not PD's dad) of that cover doesn't seem to be a gentle kind soul though, according to his style of art...Yikes!


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