Fourteen of John Lennon's “Bag One” lithographs are now a part of the permanent collection in New York's Museum of Modern Art. An original set of the same 14 lithographs, which came out in a limited edition of 300 and sold for $1,200 when first exhibited in 1970, commands up to $80,000.

But when the former Beatle tried to get more of his artwork shown in galleries just a few years later, he was met with indifference or even scorn.

“John was not very successful because most galleries thought it was just the dabblings of a 'pop star.' It was very humiliating,” recalled his widow, Yoko Ono.

Lennon's “Bag One” lithographs prompted a 1970 police raid in England, on the second day they were on display at the London Art Gallery. Police shut down the exhibit and confiscated all 14 of his works, some of which they charged were pornographic, not erotic.

When the “Bag One” exhibit came to North America later that year, Chicago police closed down the gallery displaying the show and a judge ordered that five of the works be burned.

Today, Lennon's often whimsical art is regularly shown around the world – and sold (for prices ranging from $300 to $20,000 per piece) – with no hint of controversy. This weekend's free exhibit at Del Mar's Flower Hill Promenade marks at least the eighth time his work has been displayed in San Diego County since 1988.

Why the change?

DETAILS “The Art of John Lennon” When: Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Where: Flower Hill Promenade (lower level), 2720 Via De La Valle, Del Mar Tickets: Free Phone: (800) 477-5630 Online: lennonart.com

In a word, death, coupled with the passing of time.

After Lennon was gunned down in late 1980 in New York, Ono vowed to draw attention to her late husband's drawings, as well as to oversee the release of new and archival recordings. She succeeded beyond her wildest dreams.

“John never thought this would happen,” Ono, 75, said last week from the same Manhattan luxury apartment overlooking Central Park she and Lennon once shared.

“But I knew he wanted this. So, after his passing, the first thing I thought to do was to finish (the posthumously released album) 'Milk and Honey,' which was very difficult – to listen to his voice – after he wasn't around anymore.

“Then, I thought: 'Now, I really have to state his case about his artwork.' It was very difficult, because ... there was a big, if I may say, snobbery in the art world. But they felt (after he died) that, if I came and appeared in conjunction with the shows, it would be all right.

“That was the condition, that I come. I agreed, because I thought if his work circulated they would realize how good it was. And, now, they are just interested in his work.”

Ono had toiled for years as an obscure avant-garde painter, performance artist and aesthetic-provocateur before she met Lennon in late 1966 at a London gallery exhibiting her highly conceptual work. They were married in 1969, a year after Lennon's first wife, Cynthia, filed for divorce on the grounds of adultery.

In May 1968, Lennon and Ono had their first joint exhibit in London. Two months later, he staged his first solo art show, “You Are Here: To Yoko From John, With Love.” He continued to draw and doodle, before and after their son, Sean, was born in 1975 in New York.

“Drawing was like a security blanket for John,” Ono said. “He'd always carry a pencil or pen. And, even if he wasn't, it was easy to get. He drew everywhere, at home especially. I'd make tea and he'd be drawing on the kitchen table.

“Sometimes we'd have music on, but we both enjoyed the 'quiet-ness,' which we didn't get that often outside. We really liked the quiet feel of home.”

Ono was an established artist, albeit unknown in the mainstream, when she met Lennon. His first drawings of note came when he was a teenager and appeared in “The Daily Howl,” a newspaper-like journal that featured his depictions of surreal creatures with clawed feet and oversized heads. His subsequent work was more autobiographical and centered on his life with Ono and, later, their son Sean.

Was Lennon ever competitive with the better-trained and more accomplished Ono?

“Not in visual art,” she said.

“The nicest thing is that we were very different in how we expressed ourselves. ... He was very critical of his own work. He would try to throw away a drawing, and I'd say 'Uh-uh, that's a very good one.' He'd always listen to me.”

This weekend's Del Mar exhibit will feature 110 serigraphs and signed lithographs of Lennon's work, including a never-before seen line drawing called “United We Stand.” Also on display will be copies of his handwritten lyrics to 10 songs from his solo career and his tenure with The Beatles, including “Working Class Hero” and “In My Life.”

Ono has never counted how many of drawings Lennon did. Her criteria for selecting which of his works to feature in gallery shows, she said, is to pick “the kind of drawings he would not be ashamed of. I just want to keep on protecting John's work and present it in the way he would have wanted.”