Sotheby’s revealed today, 7 October, the full slate of more than 250 works of art and 100-plus furniture and design pieces from the estate of the protean rock star David Bowie, which will be auctioned in London from 10-11 November.
Around 30 previously announced lots have toured to London, Los Angeles, and New York; the full catalogue displays further gems, including works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Tintoretto, and Francis Picabia, vintage design pieces by the Memphis group that look like they came straight out of a music video, and Bowie’s red Valentine portable typewriter, designed by Ettore Sottsass and Perry King in 1969 for Olivetti (est £300-£500).
The evening sale on 10 November also features a spin painting Bowie made with Damien Hirst, Beautiful, hallo, space-boy painting (1995, est £250,000-£350,000). Hirst recounted for the catalogue: “Around the time we made the painting, we were hanging out a lot and having these long conversations about what it meant to be an artist. What does an artwork say about an artist’s personality? Is the person of the artist always present in a piece of art? It’s something I’ve thought of quite often with the spins because they’re an interesting meditation on the role of the artist…[Bowie] understood art and loved it and understood the tension and the colour and playfulness in the spin paintings, and I guess that’s why he was moved to come and find me.”
