THE LATE David Bowie’s art collection has been auctioned off over two days at Sotheby’s in London.
Fetching a huge $52.5 million AUD, the British pop star’s private collection was made up of more than 350 works of art and included everything from paintings to sculptures.
The two day event happened at London’s Sotheby auction house and was described as a ‘white glove sale’ meaning every single item sold. Champagne usually flows after a 100% sell-through rate.
The priciest artwork sold was a painting titled Air Power from US-artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. It fetched close to $12 million AUD.
Basquiat himself grew up in extreme poverty in New York City but despite this eventually became one of the most sought after neo-experssionist artists of all time.
Bowie played US-artist Andy Warhol in the 1996 biopic Basquiat alongside Jerffrey Wright.
Another of Basquiat’s paintings nabbed more than two million pounds.
Most works fetched well above their estimates including a portrait from Frank Auerback entitled Head of Gerda Boehm which sold for 3.7 million pounds and Family Group, a Henry Moore sculpture which sold for 580,000 pounds.
The first of the two day auction netted close to 25 million pounds which was more than double its pre-sale estimate.
The entire auction ended Friday afternoon which came after a ten day pre-sale viewing period which was attended by close to 40,000 people in London.
A number of British musicians and celebrities were in attendance at the auction including Florence + the Machine member Isabella Summers and Stay with me singer Sam Smith.
The ‘King of Glam Rock’ passed away in January of this year which sent public interest in the pop star through the roof.
An exhibition held by the Victoria and Albert Museum entitled David Bowie Is attracted more than 1.3 million people making it the museum’s most successful exhibition to date.