Most people know the glove. They know the moonwalk. They know the high-pitched "hee-hee" that echoed through stadiums from Bucharest to Tokyo. But if you look at the Michael Jackson drawings by him, you see a totally different guy. It’s weird, honestly. We spent decades watching this man be the most photographed human on earth, yet the stuff he scribbled on hotel stationery and sketchpads feels more "real" than any press conference he ever gave.
He wasn't just a casual doodler.
Michael was obsessed with the line. He studied the old masters. He looked at Michelangelo. He looked at Walt Disney. He looked at Norman Rockwell. When he sat down with a piece of paper, he wasn't trying to be a "pop star who draws." He was trying to capture something he felt he was losing: a sense of normalcy. Or maybe a sense of self that wasn't being chased by a thousand lenses.
Why Everyone Is Talking About Michael Jackson Drawings By Him Now
It’s mostly because of the auctions. For years, these sketches were tucked away in private collections or held by people like Brett-Livingstone Strong, an artist who was close with Jackson. Recently, a massive collection of 78 signed drawings—originally valued at almost $8 million—hit the news because of a legal tug-of-war involving the Jackson Estate.
People are fascinated.
Why? Because the drawings aren't what you'd expect. You might think he’d draw glitter and stage lights. Instead, he drew chairs. He drew gates. He drew his own feet in those iconic loafers. There’s a specific sketch of his own hand, the one that wore the sequined glove, but in the drawing, it’s bare. It’s just a hand. It’s almost like he was trying to remind himself that underneath the costume, he was still a person made of skin and bone.
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The Technical Side of Michael's Art
Let's get into the weeds for a second. Michael wasn't just "good for a celebrity." He actually understood composition. If you look at the Michael Jackson drawings by him, especially the ones from the 80s and 90s, you see a heavy influence of classicism. He loved the "Golden Ratio." He’d spend hours looking at the way statues were built.
He preferred simple tools.
- Black felt-tip markers (he loved a good Sharpie).
- Wax crayons (for that soft, Disney-esque texture).
- Colored pencils.
- Standard white bond paper or expensive heavy cardstock.
He had a thing for mirrors, too. He drew himself in the mirror constantly. But he didn't draw the "Thriller" Michael. He drew a version of himself that looked regal, almost like an English king or a Renaissance prince. It’s a bit heartbreaking when you think about it. The guy lived in a world where he couldn't walk down the street, so he created a world on paper where he was the architect of his own image.
The Disney Influence
You can't talk about his art without mentioning Walt. Michael saw Disney as the ultimate creator. He didn't just want to draw Mickey Mouse (though he did, a lot); he wanted to understand how Disney created "magic" through visuals. Some of his sketches of Peter Pan are genuinely impressive. They have this fluid, kinetic energy. It’s the same energy he had on stage, just transferred to a 2D surface.
He used to say that art was a way of "stilled motion."
The Controversy of the "Strong-Jackson" Collection
Okay, we have to address the elephant in the room. The art world is messy. There has been a lot of back-and-forth about the authenticity and the ownership of certain Michael Jackson drawings by him. Specifically, the collection held by Brett-Livingstone Strong.
The Estate has been protective.
The fans are divided.
But the experts who have seen the pieces—the ones with the verified signatures and the clear Jackson "style"—note a recurring theme: Power and Protection.
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He drew a lot of gates. Huge, ornate, wrought-iron gates. To a psychologist, that’s a field day. To a fan, it’s a peek into the mind of someone who felt like Neverland was a fortress as much as a playground. He also drew furniture. Specifically, thrones. He was the King of Pop, sure, but in his drawings, he seemed to be searching for a version of "kinghood" that wasn't so heavy.
What the Critics Say
Art critics aren't always kind to celebrity artists. Usually, they dismiss it as "memorabilia." But with Michael, there’s a different vibe. Sir Edward Lucie-Smith, a pretty famous art historian, once noted that Michael’s drawings showed a genuine "graphic gift." It wasn't just "Look, I can draw a circle." It was "Look, I understand how shadow works on a human face."
The Recurring Motifs: What He Drew the Most
If you scroll through a catalog of his work, you'll see patterns. Michael was nothing if not repetitive in his practice. He believed in doing things over and over until they were perfect.
- Self-Portraits: Usually looking off into the distance. Rarely looking directly at the "viewer."
- Children: He drew faces of children from all over the world. These were often the most detailed, with a lot of attention paid to the eyes.
- The Loafers: He knew those shoes were his trademark. He drew them with a sense of humor, almost like they were characters themselves.
- Architecture: Arches, columns, and those aforementioned gates.
He once sketched a "Self-Portrait as a Child" that is actually pretty haunting. It’s just a small boy sitting in a corner. It’s a far cry from the "Bad" era persona. It makes you realize that even when he was at the height of his fame, he was still that kid from Gary, Indiana, trying to figure out where he fit in.
The Valuation: What Are They Worth?
Price-wise? They’re all over the place. A simple doodle on a napkin might go for $5,000 at a specialty auction. A fully realized, signed, colored-pencil drawing? You’re looking at $50,000 to $200,000. The problem is that the market is flooded with fakes.
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If you’re looking to buy or even just study them, you have to look for the "MJ" flourish. He had a very specific way of signing his art that differed slightly from his autograph on a CD or a photo. It was more deliberate. More "artistic."
How to View the Art Today
You can't exactly walk into the Louvre and see Michael Jackson’s sketches. Not yet, anyway. Most are in private hands. However, books like "The Official Michael Jackson Opus" have high-quality prints. There are also digital archives maintained by fan historians who have tracked every auction listing since 2009.
It’s worth looking at them in chronological order.
The early stuff is playful.
The later stuff? It gets darker. More complex. The lines are sharper.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Collectors
If you're interested in the world of Michael Jackson drawings by him, don't just start bidding on eBay. That’s a recipe for getting scammed.
- Verify the Provenance: Every legitimate drawing has a "story" of how it left Michael’s hands. If there’s no paper trail, walk away.
- Study the Shading: Michael had a very specific "cross-hatching" style when he used markers. He didn't fill in colors solidly; he used lines to create depth.
- Check the Material: Michael often drew on stationery from hotels he stayed at—The Dorchester in London, the Hotel Plaza Athénée in Paris. If the paper matches the era he was there, that’s a good sign.
- Look for the "Joy": Even his sadder drawings usually have a bit of whimsy. If a drawing feels too "corporate" or too "perfect," it probably wasn't him.
The most important thing to remember is that these drawings weren't meant for us. They weren't meant for a gallery wall. They were a way for a man who lived under a microscope to find a little bit of quiet. When you look at a sketch of a chair or a tree drawn by Michael Jackson, you’re seeing the world through his eyes—not through the lens of a paparazzi camera.
For anyone wanting to dive deeper, start by researching the "Strong-Jackson Collection" court documents. They contain fascinating lists of titles and descriptions that give you a roadmap of what Michael was working on in his final years. It’s the closest we’ll ever get to reading his private diary.
Art is honest.
People lie, but a line on a page usually tells the truth.
And the truth in Michael’s art is that he was a lot more observant—and a lot more grounded in classical technique—than the media ever gave him credit for.
To explore the visual side of his legacy further, you can look into the work of David Nordahl, the artist Michael hired to paint him in various heroic scenes. Comparing Nordahl's polished paintings to Michael's raw sketches shows the gap between how Michael wanted the world to see him and how he actually saw himself. It's in that gap where the real Michael Jackson lives.