A first auction of items from late rock star David Bowie’s private art collection has fetched more than $30 million, with some going far above their estimated prices.
In a packed salesroom on Thursday evening, auction house Sotheby’s held its first of three “Bowie/Collector” sales of art owned by the music icon, who died in January at the age of 69, raising 24.3 million pounds ($30.66 million).
“David always enjoyed sharing the works in the collection, loaning to museums and actively supporting the art and artists that were part of his world,” a Sotheby’s statement quoted the Bowie estate as saying, reports Reuters.
Among the works under the hammer was late American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat’s painting “Air Power”, which sold for 7.1 million pounds ($8.96 million) including the buyer’s premium – far more than its estimated 2.5 million-3.5 million.
British artist Frank Auerbach’s “Head of Gerda Boehm” went for 3.8 million pounds. Its estimate had been 300,000-500,000.
“Beautiful, hallo, space-boy painting” by British artist Damien Hirst with Bowie, sold for 785,000 pounds, after being estimated at 250,000-350,000.
