David Bowie, famous as a musician, actor and cultural icon, had a lesser known identity: art collector. “The only thing I buy addictively is art,” Bowie told the BBC in 1999. With the help of Sotheby’s, Bowie’s personal collection of artwork will be available for public viewing starting this summer. The auction house is holding an exhibition and auction at Sotheby’s New Bond Street in London in November. Leading up to this iconic event, you can see preview exhibitions in Los Angeles, New York and Hong Kong.
Beautiful, Shattering, Slashing, Violent, Pinky, Hacking, Sphincter Painting by Damien Hirst
Painting, 1995, Household gloss on canvas
£250,000-350,000
The collection, comprised of over 400 items, features Modern and Contemporary works of photography, painting, drawing, prints and sculpture. Additionally, Bowie owned pieces of Outsider Art and work by Italian designer Ettore Sottsass and the Memphis group.
The collection features artwork by masters such as Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Marcel Duchamp and Frank Auerbach, among many others. See the show dates below, and get more information here.
Preview World Tour
London: 20 July-9 August
Los Angeles: 20-21 September
New York: 26-29 September
Hong Kong: 12-15 October
The Exhibition
Bowie/Collector: 1-10 November
Sotheby’s New Bond Street, London
The Auctions
Part I: Evening Auction of Modern and Contemporary Art, 10 November
Part II: Day Auction of Modern and Contemporary Art, 11 November
Part III: Post-Modernist Design: Ettore Sottsass and the Memphis Group, 11 November
