Voice of London

After smashing sales during the first event on 10 November, the second instalment of the David Bowie art auction raised an incredible amount of money for the late singer’s estate.

Reporter: Cecilia Peruzzi I Sub-Editor: Yasmin Jeffery

Yesterday, the last part of the two day run of the David Bowie art collection auction took place at Sotheby’s.

Following sales of over £24 million on its first night on 10 November, Friday saw the auction of art and furniture.

While it started well with the sale of Crucifixion by David Jones at £75,000 (it had been valued between £5,000-7,000), it wasn’t as successful as the night before.

With 47 works of art on offer, the first night saw a sales total of £24 million.

The second part of the art auction comprised 208 more pieces, from 20th century British artists, German expressionists and contemporary African creatives.

However, it hardly came close to topping the previous night’s record, making a total of just £8.5 million.

The highest selling item from this part of the auction was Odd Nerdrum’s painting Dawn, which depicts four men sitting on a rocky landscape, and sold for £341,000.

The third and final part of the event — the Ettore Sottsass and Memphis Group Design auction — comprised furniture by the two Italian designers.

Bowie had told of his enthusiasm for the Memphis Group on more than one occasion over the years, and had collected many of their items.

The furniture sold for £1.3 million — far more than what had been estimated.

Bowie’s Brionvega record player managed to sell for £257,000, making it one of the most expensive items in the auction.

Other items that ended up selling for more than their valued price included Bowie’s radio, valued at £150 and selling for £30,000, and his salt and pepper shakers, which went for £7,500.

While not as exciting or ostentatious as the night before, the second part of the David Bowie collection auction was still a success, raising 10 times more than expected for the Bowie estate.

 

@VoiceofLDNarts