David Bowie © Gavin Evans
David Bowie’s massive art collection will be available for purchase this evening at Sotheby’s in London. Featuring over 350 works belonging to the late music icon, who tragically passed away in January after a long battle with cancer at 69 years of age, the auction will begin at 7pm GMT.
David Bowie’s massive art collection will be available for purchase this evening at Sotheby’s in London. Featuring over 350 works belonging to the late music icon, who tragically passed away in January after a long battle with cancer at 69 years of age, the auction will begin at 7pm GMT.
The most notable piece is Jean-Michael Basquiat’s Air Power— a 1984 painting over 5 feet high with an estimated value of US $4.7 million, which Bowie originally bought at Christie’s in London in 1955 for a fraction of the price (US $120.2K to be exact). Other top lots up for grabs are a Frank Auerbach painting from 1965, Head of Gerda Boehm (estimated to fetch up to US $600K) as well as a 16th Century Venetian altarpiece by Italian Renaissance painter Tintoretto, whom Bowie was extremely fond of.
Basquiat, Air Power (1984)
The legendary rockstar was a patron of the arts for over 25 years, and had a penchant for 20th-century British art. In his biography, written by Nicholas Pegg in 2011, Bowie (who was a painter himself) says, “Yes, I do have a (too frequently remarked upon) Tintoretto and a small Rubens…But the majority of what I have are British 20th century and not terribly big names. I’ve gone for what seemed to be an important or interesting departure at a certain time, or something that typified a certain decade, rather than go for Hockneys or Freuds or whatever.”
Bowie eventually grew a liking towards contemporary British art and young homegrown artists, which is reflected in the three-part sale by way of a “spin” painting by Damien Hirst, one of the only contemporary artists that Bowie publicly admired.
Damien Hirst, Beautiful, Shattering, Slashing, Violent, Pinky, Hacking, Sphincter (1995)
Bowie’s envy-inducing collection also features the work of Italian designer Ettore Sotsass and the Memphis group, which range from an estimated value of a few hundred to thousand dollars.
The impressive art collection first was first showcased in London on July 20th to August 9th, before making its way across the pond for a Los Angeles viewing on the 20th of September, followed by a stop in New York then Hong Kong before returning to London for a final showing on November 1st ahead of tonight’s auction.
Day Sale, Lot 279, Catherine, Fanagalo Store
Evening Sale, Lot 21, Basquiat, Untitled
