The unique art collection of David Bowie is to be revealed to the public for the first time
The
musician's life as a collector was something he kept almost entirely hidden
from public view.
But now, nearly
300 works by artists including Damien Hirst, Henry Moore and Marcel Duchamp
will go on display at Sotheby's in London ,
before being sold at auction in November.
Born and
raised in South London , David Bowie was also
drawn to chroniclers of the capital's streets such as Leon Kossoff and Frank
Auerbach.
The singer
was also fascinated by British landscapes and collected works by artists
including John Virtue. Seven of his monochrome works are included in the sale.
But the
broad ranging collection is not limited to British art. Among the more maverick
works is a piece by Duchamp - A Bruit Secret - in which he placed a ball of
string between two brass plates, with an unknown object hidden in the middle. It
is expected to fetch up to £250,000.
The
American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat's graffiti-style painting Air Power is the
most valuable lot in the auction, with an estimated value of between £2.5m - £3.5m.
The artist
and writer Matthew Collings says the collection reflected Bowie 's personality.
Although Bowie told the BBC in
1999 "The only thing I buy obsessively and addictively is art,"
little had been known about his life as an art collector.
He did not
buy on the basis of reputation or for investment, but because of his own
personal response to each artist and their work.
Boyd also
thinks the art world appealed to Bowie
because it was so different from his music career.
As well as
267 paintings, more than 120 items of 20th Century furniture and sculpture will
also be auctioned. Among them, a striking 1960s stereo cabinet created by the
Italian designers Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni.