George Michael’s private art collection on display in London ahead of auction
Written by News on 10/03/2019
George Michael was an avid art lover – and more than 170 works from his personal collection are being sold at an auction.
The singer and songwriter amassed a collection of over 200 items before his death on Christmas Day in 2016.
The pieces of art will go under the hammer at a live auction at Christie’s London on 14 March – with the rest up for grabs on an online auction the next day.
The auction house estimates prices for the artworks will range from £400 to £1.5m in both auctions.
Michael built his collection through visits to galleries and artists’ studios.
He also developed friendships with members of the Young British Artists (YBA) movement, including Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, Craig-Martin, Sarah Lucas and Marc Quinn.
Among the items up for sale is a brightly coloured 2007 portrait of the pop star – called Commissioned Portrait Untitled (George) – by contemporary conceptual artist Craig-Martin.
Hirst’s The Incomplete Truth (2006) and Cecily Brown’s Yet To Be Titled (2008) also feature among the collection up for auction.
Christie’s estimates Brown’s oil painting will sell for between £350,000 and £550,000.
The Hirst piece – a single white dove suspended as in mid-flight in a vertical tank of formaldehyde – is expected to sell for as much as £1.4m.
Tracey Emin’s Drunk To The Bottom Of My Soul (2002), a stitched blanket artwork, is estimated to sell for between £180,000 and £250,000.
Proceeds from the sale will be used to continue the singer’s philanthropic work.
Bidding opens from 8 March and an exhibition of works from the collection are available for public view from 9 March to 15 March.
(c) Sky News 2019: George Michael’s private art collection on display in London ahead of auction
