Courage Award for the Arts from Yoko Ono to Marianne Faithfull

A signed, framed Certificate presented in 2014 to the singer-songwriter Marianne Faithfull by the artist and musician Yoko Ono, recognising that ‘You have been put through the thorns of scorn and misunderstanding... Your work as a creator of music, actor and performer has shown like a beacon in the world...’ - sentiments that might apply as much to Ono as the award’s recipient. The printed award (18x18cm) has been signed in black ink and mounted in a black wooden frame (27x27cm).

Yoko Ono founded her Courage Award in 2009: it is presented annually by Yoko Ono Lennon to artists, musicians, collectors, curators, writers who ‘sought the truth in their work and demonstrated leadership, courage, resourcefulness in their work, and risked their careers by pursuing a larger vision of the local or national interest despite pressure to succumb to commercial and political constraints’. Other winners include Guerrilla Girls and Kate Millett.

MARIANNE FAITHFULL (1946-2025) was a singer who found ‘pop fame and tabloid infamy in the 60s but returned to music in the 70s with Broken English, a statement of bloody-minded survival’ (Guardian) She forged a 50 year career as a songwriter and recording artist after escaping her early image as Mick Jagger’s angelic girlfriend as well as achieving some success as an actor, all of it against a backdrop of addiction and personal struggles which were made manifest in her music. She died last year in Paris.

PROVENANCE: From the estate of Marianne Faithfull.