Sotheby's auctioneer Oliver Barker fields bids at the sale of David Bowie's personal art collection.
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.
Two workers from Sotheby’s lift Basquiat’s Air Power artwork which just sold for 7.1 million pounds.Source:AP
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.
Foyer by British artist Patrick Caulfield sold for more than 650,000 pounds, more than 200,000 pounds than its estimate at the Sotheby’s auction entitled Bowie/Collector.Source:AFP
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.
An artwork entitled Beautiful, shattering, slashing, violent, pinky, hacking, sphincter painting by British artist Damien Hirst next to a portrait of music legend David Bowie.Source:AFP
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.