The Personal Collection of David Bowie Exhibition and Auction

 A Spin Painting Bowie Made in Collaboration with Damien Hirst ◦ Two Masterworks by Jean-Michel Basquiat ◦ Surrealist Art by Marcel Duchamp, Francis Picabia and Man Ray ◦ Contemporary African Sculptures and Paintings ◦ 100 Design Pieces by the Revolutionary Memphis Group ◦ David Bowie’s Record Player ◦ An Altarpiece by Renaissance Master Tintoretto ◦ Modern British Art by Greats including Frank Auerbach, Leon Kossoff, Peter Lanyon ◦ “Outsider” Art Created at the Gugging Haus der Künstler (House of the Artists) near Vienna  ◦ Post-war British Avant-Garde Painting from St Ives ◦ Daring Pieces of Twentieth Century Design, ranging from Tea Pots to Vases, Lamps, Tables, Chairs, Clocks and Carpets 

Musician, actor, icon — David Bowie was for almost 50 years one of the most recognised and revered artists in the world, his influence transcending music to shape the wider culture of our time. His life as an art collector, however, was something he kept almost entirely hidden from public view. Now, for the first time, this little-known side of Bowie will be fully revealed.

In November, Sotheby’s will stage Bowie/Collector – a three-part sale that includes a selection of around 400 items from the personal collection of David Bowie. At its heart will be Bowie’s collection of Modern and Contemporary British art – a richly stimulating group of over 200 works by many of the most important British artists of the 20th century, including Henry Moore, Graham Sutherland, Frank Auerbach and Damien Hirst. Bowie’s famously inquisitive mind also led him to Outsider Art, Surrealism, Contemporary African art and, not least, to the work of the eccentric Italian designer Ettore Sottsass and the Memphis group. This is a collection put together with great thoughtfulness on the basis not of reputation but of Bowie’s highly personal, intellectual response to the individual vision and individual works of particular artists.

Public Exhibition Dates

Tuesday 1 November, 12noon–5pm

Wednesday 2 & Thursday 3 November, 9am–5pm

Friday 4 November, 9am–5pm (with an all-night view). Experience Sotheby’s after dark at the Bowie/Collector all night view and enjoy music, talks, film screenings and more.

Saturday 5 & Sunday 6 November, 10am–5pm. A weekend of talks dedicated to celebrating David Bowie’s life as an icon, musician and collector.

Monday 7 to Wednesday 9 November, 9am–5pm

Thursday 10 November, 9am–12noon

The Auctions

Part I: Modern & Contemporary Art, Evening Auction, 10 November

Part II: Modern & Contemporary Art, Day Auction, 11 November

Part III: Design: Ettore Sottsass and the Memphis Group, 11 November