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Friday 3 March 2023
Someone donated $400,000 to save an apartment that an artist spent 33 years filling with bizarre works including a lion's head fireplace
Ron Gittins spent 33 years transforming his apartment into a bizarre fantasy world.
Saving Ron's Place
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.
It was saved on Wednesday by an anonymous donation of £335,000 – about $400,000.
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.
"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.
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."
He ended up painting almost every single surface, showcasing his obsession with ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
Saving Ron's Place
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.
Saving Ron's Place
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.
Saving Ron's Place
They were joined by a team of local friends and volunteers, who sought to protect Gittins' immersive artwork.
Saving Ron's Place
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.
Gittins' bathroom features numerous paintings of dragonflies, fish, and other sea creatures.
Saving Ron's Place
There's a hammerhead shark swimming along the wall, beside a crumbling cupboard.
Saving Ron's Place
It's not just paintings: Gittins' home also has numerous handmade sculptures.
Saving Ron's Place
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."
Jarvis Cocker called the lion's head fireplace, which Gittins molded by hand out of wet concrete, "unbelievable."
Ron Gittins spent 33 years transforming his apartment into a bizarre fantasy world.
Ultimately, the team behind Saving Ron's Place believe that Gittins' apartment is a "chaotic yet utterly mesmerizing world" that deserves to be preserved.
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.
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