Someone donated $400,000 to save an apartment that an artist spent 33 years filling with bizarre works including a lion's head fireplace
Stephanie Stacey
- Ron Gittins meticulously decorated his rented apartment from 1986 till his death in 2019.
- Friends feared the art-filled apartment would be lost after it was put up for auction.
An anonymous benefactor donated £335,000 (almost $400,000) to help campaigners buy an art-filled apartment featuring everything from an ornate Roman altar to a handmade papier-mâché lion's head.
The apartment's former resident was artist Ron Gittins, who died in 2019. He started renting the property in Birkenhead, close to Liverpool in northwest England, in 1986, and spent the next 33 years painting every inch of the interior and filling it with bizarre artworks.
After his death, friends and family came together to pay Gittins' rent and try to preserve his art-filled home. But they were worried that the apartment, which they call Gittins' "secret world," would be lost forever after it was due to be auctioned earlier this week.
The decided to found Saving Ron's Place to raise funds to buy the apartment — and even gained the support of Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker, who is also a presenter on BBC Radio 6 Music.
Nothing is yet known about the individual who made the donation or why they decided to make it.
Take a look inside Gittins' home.
When Ron Gittins' friends and family first entered his apartment after his death in 2019, it was piled high with plastic bags, cardboard boxes, and magazines.
Source: Saving Ron's Place
"Ron was a great hoarder and saved anything that inspired him or could be repurposed in the creation of his art," said a representative for Saving Ron's Place.
Source: Saving Ron's Place
In his lifetime, Gittins almost never let anyone enter his private sanctuary. As a result, according to Saving Ron's Place, he "lived without basic home comforts and amenities – much to the distress of his family."
Source: Saving Ron's Place
Gittins' ultimate priority was "the freedom to create his art."
His rental agreement, which began in 1986, allowed him to "decorate the interior of the property to his own taste."
Source: Saving Ron's Place
He ended up painting almost every single surface, showcasing his obsession with ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
Gittins made similar artwork at previous homes. He was featured in his local newspaper in the 1970s for painting portraits of ancient Rome on the walls and ceiling his bedroom at his parents' home.
Family members, including sister Pat and niece Jan, "felt compelled" to preserve Ron's Place and set to work clearing away the debris and repairing the apartment.
They were joined by a team of local friends and volunteers, who sought to protect Gittins' immersive artwork.
Gittins based each room in the apartment on a different period of history. A large sculpture of a Minotaur is the centerpiece of the ancient Greek room.
Source: Saving Ron's Place
He even built a Roman altar in the kitchen.
Gittins' bathroom features numerous paintings of dragonflies, fish, and other sea creatures.
There's a hammerhead shark swimming along the wall, beside a crumbling cupboard.
It's not just paintings: Gittins' home also has numerous handmade sculptures.
Jarvis Cocker, lead singer of Pulp, is a patron of Saving Ron's Place. He told The Guardian: "Everybody decorates their house in some way. Ron has just gone that extra mile."
Source: The Guardian
Jarvis Cocker called the lion's head fireplace, which Gittins molded by hand out of wet concrete, "unbelievable."
Source: The Guardian
Ultimately, the team behind Saving Ron's Place believe that Gittins' apartment is a "chaotic yet utterly mesmerizing world" that deserves to be preserved.
Source: Saving Ron's Place
The team plan to use their remaining funds, which they're still collecting on GoFundMe, to refurbish Ron's Place and start a charity to promote art and mental health awareness.
Source: GoFundMe
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