The former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan has been open about his side gig as an artist—he even got in trouble with TSA when he accidentally packed a knife for sharpening pencils in his carry-on luggage. Now, his prowess with a paintbrush is paying off. Last week, the actor sold his portrait of Bob Dylan for $1.4 million at the 25th annual amFAR Cannes charity gala. 
 
 The painting’s new owner also won a lunch date with the 65-year-old actor, reported People. 
 
 “I started painting in 1987 when my late wife had cancer,” Brosnan told the crowd, according to the Daily Mail. His first wife, Cassandra Harris, died in 1991 of ovarian cancer, the same disease that claimed the life of their daughter Charlotte in 2013. “I had been painting out of pain, and now the pain sometimes comes through in color.” 
 
 The actor was reportedly speechless when the bidding stopped. He described himself as “deeply proud, humbled and just plain old over the moon joyous” in a post on Instagram. 
 
 Before getting into the movie business, Brosnan studied commercial illustration at St. Martin’s School of Art in London. He nevertheless described his current brand of landscapes and figurative paintings as “self-taught” in an interview with ORIGIN magazine in 2013. “I’ve painted for many, many years. Now the last few years it’s gotten more serious. Thinking about and hoping I will put on an exhibit and make a book shortly.” 
 
 The amFAR benefit, titled Cinema Against AIDS, was held Thursday night, and also included the sale of an $800,000 restored 1964 S3 Bentley Convertible and a nearly $1 million painting by Joe Bradley. The evening also featured a fashion show presented by former Vogue Paris editor Carine Roitfeld, the looks from which were then auctioned off as a collection for $1.7 million. 
 
 Follow artnet News on Facebook: ||||| Pierce Brosnan I Got $1.4M for My Dylan Painting!!! Buyer Has Kimye Ties 
 
 Pierce Brosnan's Bob Dylan Painting Sold to Kimye's House Buyer 
 
 EXCLUSIVE 
 
 Pierce Brosnan's Bob Dylan painting sold for more than $1 million, and TMZ's learned the new owner is none other than the woman who plunked down $17.8 mil on Kim and Kanye's Bel-Air mansion. 
 
 We're told Ukrainian billionaire Marina Acton snapped up 007's painting of Zimmy earlier this week at the 25th annual amFAR Cannes charity gala. 
 
 Pierce, who first took up painting back in the '80s, has gotten more serious about it, and the price tag on his work proves it -- Marina dropped $1.4 million. 
 
 As for Acton ... she's quickly building a rep for pricey Hollywood collectibles. You already know about the Bel-Air crib Kim and Kanye initially bought for $9 million back in 2013. 
 
 Not long after that purchase, Acton also shelled out another $2 million for some Beatles history. 
 
 Kanye, Dylan and the Fab Four? She has good taste and deep pockets. ||||| Pierce Brosnan really is somewhat of a double agent. 
 
 The former James Bond star, 65, who was trained as a commercial artist and worked as an illustrator, just auctioned off one of his original paintings for $1.4 million. Brosnan donated the piece, depicting the singer Bob Dylan, for the 25th annual gala amFAR Cannes charity event, Cinema Against AIDS on May 17. 
 
 Courtesy Pierce Brosnan 
 
 Along with the celebrity auction, this year’s event included performances by Grace Jones, Sting and Shaggy and Ellie Goulding. Brosnan, who has been painting for more than 20 years, also included a lunch date with himself in the sale. 
 
 At home in Malibu with his wife of 16 years, Keely Shaye Smith, the actor has an art studio in the couple’s bedroom. “I paint in oils, I paint in acrylics,” Brosnan told Origin magazine last year. “I paint figurative and landscape portraits. It’s all in my own kind of style.” 
 
 Pierce Brosnan at the amfAR Gala Dave Benett/WireImage 
 
 Despite his success as an actor, Brosnan told the magazine that in recent years his art has “gotten more serious. Thinking about and hoping I will put on an exhibit and make a book shortly,” he added. “Maybe next year.” ||||| amfAR Gala Cannes—25th Anniversary Edition! 
 
 The unforgettable evening featured spectacular performances by Sting and Shaggy, Grace Jones, Ellie Goulding and Jason Derulo, and a stunning fashion show curated by longtime amfAR supporter Carine Roitfeld. The looks were then auctioned off as a collection, which fetched $1.7 million. Other auction highlights included a Pierce Brosnan original painting, which sold for $1.4 million; a restored 1964 S3 Bentley Convertible, introduced by Heidi Klum and Benicio Del Toro, which sold for over $800,000; and a Joe Bradley painting, which brought in nearly $1 million. 
 
 The black-tie event was presented by Bold Films and Chopard. 
 
 Event produced by AAB Productions/Andy Boose 
 
 DATE 
 
 Thursday, May 17, 2018 
 
 LOCATION 
 
 Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc 
 
 Cap d’Antibes, France 
 
 HONORARY CHAIRS 
 
 ALESSANDRA AMBROSIO 
 
 POPPY DELEVINGNE 
 
 LINDA EVANGELISTA 
 
 SILVIA FENDI 
 
 AILEEN GETTY 
 
 KATE HUDSON 
 
 SCARLETT JOHANSSON 
 
 MILLA JOVOVICH 
 
 HEIDI KLUM 
 
 DAPHNA KRIM 
 
 KAROLINA KURKOVA 
 
 SIENNA MILLER 
 
 ANGELA MISSONI 
 
 MARY PARENT 
 
 KATY PERRY 
 
 NATASHA POLY 
 
 AISHWARYA RAI 
 
 VANESSA REDGRAVE 
 
 JOELY RICHARDSON 
 
 CARINE ROITFELD 
 
 CAROLINE SCHEUFELE 
 
 IRINA SHAYK 
 
 LARA STONE 
 
 DONATELLA VERSACE 
 
 MICHELLE YEOH 
 
 CONTACT FOR SPONSORSHIP/LEADERSHIP 
 
 Andy Boose at (212) 219-0297 or aboose@aabproductions.com 
 
 CONTACT FOR TICKET/TABLE INFORMATION 
 
 Christina Christofi at (212) 806-1611 or amfargalacannes@amfar.org 
 
 CONTACT FOR PRESS INQUIRIES 
 
 Bennah Serfaty at (212) 806-1607 or bennah.serfaty@amfar.org 
 
 Presenting Sponsors 
 
 Signature Sponsor 
 
 
 
 
 
 PHOTO GALLERY 
 
 ...
– Pierce Brosnan has joined the ranks of celebrity painters in a major way, reports People. A portrait of Bob Dylan painted by the former James Bond star sold for $1.4 million at the 25th annual amFAR Cannes charity auction held in Antibes last week. "I am deeply proud, humbled and plain old over the moon joyous following the sale of this painting for 1.2 million euros at last nights auction," Brosnan posted on Instagram the next day. The buyer was Ukrainian billionaire Marina Acton, who paid $17.8 million for Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s Bel-Air mansion, reports TMZ. Brosnan, who took up painting in 1987, according to artnet, is a trained commercial artist and has worked as an illustrator. He even has a studio in his bedroom, where he paints landscapes and portraits in oils and acrylics. (To read about a painter-in-chief, go here.)