Michael Crichton, bestselling author of such techno-thrillers and adventure fiction JURASSIC PARK, THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN and THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY and creator of the TV series ER, was also an avid collector of fine art.  Four paintings from his collection, all created sometime in the 1960s and worth approx. $30-35 million, will be on display in Britain this week before they go under Christie’s hammer this May.

The paintings being sold by his estate include Femme et Fillettes by Pablo Picasso, Studio Painting (Combine) by Robert Rauschenberg, and Girl in Water by Roy Lichtenstein. Also being displayed for the first time in public in about 2 decades will be a Flag painting created in encaustic by Jasper Johns sometime in the early ’60s, a work that was originally critically panned, including by critic Robert Rosenblum, who wondered if it was ”disrepectful” and “simple-minded” among other things, but which became a pop-art icon, paving the way for such artists as Warhol and Lichtenstein.  The poor reviews didn’t stop  Crichton from falling in love with it, though, and he bought directly from the artist.

Crichton had said at one time  ”the act of painting a flag at this time  seemed to many observers an absurdity: an American flag might be many things, but it was certainly not art. Yet Johns presented a carefully worked, elegantly executed painting.”   He enjoyed Johns’ work so much, he wrote the catalog for Johns’ 1977 exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York – it gave him the opportunity to pick the reclusive Johns’ brain regarding art and his contributions to it. (Crichton wasn’t the only one who loves Johns’ work:  to date, the record for a privately bought Johns painting is approx $80 million for False Start while a Johns painting  was auctioned off for a record $17.4 million.)

The Crichton paintings will be on display in the UK through February 12th and then will be auctioned off by Christie’s New York May 11th with proceeds benefiting his estate.

In 2006, Crichton became a member of the board of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In November 2008, he passed away from cancer suddenly at the age of 66.

Michael Crichton, bestselling author, film producer, film director, medical doctor and television producer, passed away on November 4th, 2008, age 66, in Los Angeles from cancer.   He is survived by his only child, daughter Taylor Anne, and his wife Sherri Alexander.  (Crichton has also been married 4 times previously.)

Michael Crichton (Full name: John Michael Crichton) was probably best known for his science fiction and techno-thriller books (JURASSIC PARK, THE LOST WORLD, THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, CONGO), stories that relied heavily on his medical background for plot points and storylines.  His books, whether they were based on the military, the medical, the adventure or the cybernetic fields were almost always written along the line of “what if something went worng…[sic]“  While not anti-tech himself, he could see how arrogance and ignorance could cause an amazing amount of damage, and he used to his novels to educate people to those possibilities.

While in medical school, he wrote books under the pseudonyms John Lange and Jeffery Hudson.  A CASE OF NEED, his 4th published novel (originally written under the Hudson name, but later re-released under Crichton) won the 1969 Edgar Award for Best Novel. He also co-authored DEALING with his younger brother Douglas under the shared pen name Michael Douglas.  The dustjacket back contains a photo of Michael and Douglas at a very young age taken by their mother.

Besides devoting time to his extensive writing career, he was also the creator and executvie producer of the TV series E.R.,  along with writing screenplay adaptations of his books.

At 6′9″, he was one of the tallest bestselling writers around.  Worldwide, his  beloved books have sold over 150 million copies.  At this time of his death, a 26th (untitled so far) novel was in the works and is expected to be published posthumously in May 2009.