AVON, Conn. (AP) – Nostalgic baby boomers and others came to Avon for a close-up view of a different type of Beatlemania art.

Rock music lovers who gathered at the Avon Old Farms Hotel for a three-day showing of artwork by John Lennon on Saturday viewed more than 100 paintings, doodles, caricatures and drawings by the slain musician.

Lennon, who is acknowledged by many as the driving creative force behind the group’s music and lyrics that ranged from tender romance to angry political resistance, also expressed himself visually about the joys of fatherhood, sex, aging and life.

“It’s an intimate look at John’s love for life,” organizer Larry Schwartz said. “It’s music for the eyes.”

The display, titled “Come Together,” included children’s illustrations such as puffy, cartoonish animals that Lennon drew for his son, Sean. Also on display were handwritten lyrics and framed words to songs such as “Imagine,” which is listed at $2,350, and “Grow Old With Me,” with an asking price of $2,900.

And there was erotica involving Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono in an exhibit first displayed in London in 1970 and shut by police for its racy content.

Jeff Gaudiosi, 31, a Beatles fan who spoke of a Lennon drawing in the den of his Windsor home is “definitely a conversation piece.”

“It’s more unique than the typical T-shirts and posters,” he said.

Gaudiosi and his wife were among more than 3,000 estimated visitors scouting for another Lennon work to decorate their young daughter’s bedroom.

“We want to get her started on this,” he said as he wheeled his 16-month-old daughter, Saffron, in a baby carriage.

Storrs artist Larry Wasiele, 46, said Lennon’s murder on Dec. 8, 1980, in front of his New York apartment was so painful he has not visited New York City since.

“To me it’s really personal, ” said Wasiele, the sculptor of the familiar bronze statue of a husky dog near Gampel Pavilion at the University of Connecticut campus in Storrs.

Rich DeBlasi, 40, of Danbury, an executive at an environmental services company, happened on the show by accident, hearing about the exhibit on radio as he came to Avon to pick up a new car.

“It touched a nerve,” DeBlasi said.

The three-day art show ended Sunday. As of Saturday afternoon, organizers estimated that more than 3,000 people had visited.

AP-ES-11-23-03 0935EST