A painting signed by four legendary artists, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon, has been sold at auction by Christie’s in New York.

Images of a Woman (1966) sold for $1.7 million, nearly triple its $600,000 estimate.

The four members of The Beatles collaborated to create the painting when they stayed in the presidential suite of the Hilton Hotel in Tokyo for 100 hours between June 29 and July 3, 1966. Japanese authorities decided it was the safest place for the group to stay among the five of his concerts at Budokan Hall.

Visitors passed through the great hotel room during their seclusion there. Some went leaving gifts, including a painting set.

The two-day process of creating the work was photographed by Robert Whittaker, who says the four musicians “never discussed what they were painting” and the result “evolved naturally”.

The project was originally given to the president of the official Beatles fan club in Japan, Tetsusaburo Shimoyama.

Record store owner Takao Nishino bought it in 1989, according to Christie’s.

Nishino consigned it to Philip Weiss Auctions in 2012. The recent sale was commissioned to Christie’s by Tracks Ltd., UK, a Beatles memorabilia company.