The aptly named “opening night” at Christie’s for the eclectic mix of art, photography, costumes, and objects that filled Elton John’s Atlanta home drew a crowd of bidding fans who snapped up everything on offer for a total of US$8 million.
Among items the lucky winners snagged was a collector’s edition of a pinball machine signed by John that plays 16 full-length studio master tracks of his hit songs and features interactive LED lights and LCD displays; a 1990 Bentley Continental two-door convertible; a pair of silver leather platform boots; and silver rocket-shaped cocktail shakers.
Many of the collectible treasures in the 49-lot sale sold above estimates, in total achieving 155% of the low-end of anticipated prices. According to Christie’s, 40% of bidders and buyers were new to Christie’s.
Before the sale, the auction house shared that a heart-shaped collage by Damien Hirst that was made for John and his husband, David Furnish—expected to fetch up to US$450,000—would be withdrawn as the family decided to retain the piece.
The biggest sale of the evening was a painting by Banksy that John acquired directly from the elusive British graffiti artist. Flower Thrower Triptych , 2017, sold for US$1.55 million, US$1.925 million with fees.
Wednesday’s evening auction was the first of two live and six online sales that are filled with a total of nearly 900 items that spoke to John’s passions, style, and vision.
Many lots sparked brisk back-and-forth bidding between collectors in the packed saleroom, on the phone with specialists, and online. The auction house generated excitement from the get-go with a pair of 1975 prescription Sir Winston Eyeware sunglasses that sold for a hammer price of US$18,000, six times a presale high estimate. With fees, the sunglasses sold for US$22,680.
That opening lot was followed by the sale of a pair of Elizabeth II silver cocktail shakers shaped like rockets, made by Mark of Theo Fennell in London in 1993, that fetched US$40,000, four times the high estimate, after vigorous bidding. With fees, the shakers cost US$50,400.
Then came a pair of silver leather tall platform boots, circa 1971, that sold for US$70,000—seven times the high estimate, and US$94,500 with fees.
Glittery watches and jewellery also stole the show. An “exuberant and rare” 18K gold, diamond, and yellow sapphire-set automatic chronograph Rolex with a leopard-print dial sold for US$140,000, more than double a high estimate. The total with fees was US$176,500.
A Cartier “crash” model watch from 1991, sold for US$220,000, above a US$100,000 high estimate, or US$227,200 with fees.
The sale also featured photography from Robert Mapplethorpe, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, Andy Warhol, and Cindy Sherman, among others. There was also art by Keith Haring, Sol Lewitt, and Julian Schnabel.
John’s conservatory grand piano, a Yamaha Model C6F, circa 1992, that had taken centre stage in his home sold for US$160,000, more than three times a high estimate; with fees, it fetched US$201,600.
The evening auction ended with the sale of John’s 1990 Bentley continental two-door convertible for US$350,000 (10 times the high estimate), or US$441,00 with fees, and the sale of the pinball machine, which fetched US$55,000, or US$69,300 with fees.
Elton John fans have plenty of opportunities to bid again on the singer’s collectibles, including more costumes, watches, fine and decorative arts, and jewellery. Another 281 items will be sold at a live sale at Christie’s on Thursday, and there are six online auctions continuing through next week.
One online sale features John’s friendship with Versace, and including couture, decorative arts, photographs, and jewellery; another titled “Honky Château” celebrates the singer’s aesthetic with brightly coloured art glass, painting, and sculpture.
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The auction house plans for sales to proceed, including for a Warhol ‘Flowers’ estimated at $20 million
Christie’s remained in the grip of an ongoing cyberattack on Tuesday, a crisis that has hobbled the auction house’s website and altered the way it can handle online bids. This could disrupt its sales of at least $578 million worth of art up for bid this week, starting tonight with a pair of contemporary art auctions amid New York’s major spring sales.
Christie’s said it has been grappling with the fallout of what it described as a technology security incident since Thursday morning—a breach or threat of some kind, though the auction house declined to discuss details because of its own security protocols. Christie’s also declined to say whether any of the private or financial data it collects on its well-heeled clientele had been breached or stolen, though it said it would inform customers if that proves to be the case.
“We’re still working on resolving the incident, but we want to make sure we’re continuing our sales and assuring our clients that it’s safe to bid,” said Chief Executive Guillaume Cerutti.
Sotheby’s and Phillips haven’t reported any similar attacks on their sites.
Christie’s crisis comes at a particularly fragile moment for the global art market. Heading into these benchmark spring auctions, market watchers were already wary, as broader economic fears about wars and inflation have chipped away at collectors’ confidence in art values. Christie’s sales fell to $6.2 billion last year, down 20% from the year before.
Doug Woodham, managing partner of Art Fiduciary Advisors and a former Christie’s president, said people don’t want to feel the spectre of scammers hovering over what’s intended to be an exciting pastime or serious investment: the act of buying art. “It’s supposed to be a pleasurable activity, so anything that creates an impediment to enjoying that experience is problematic because bidders have choices,” Woodham said.
Aware of this, Cerutti says the house has gone into overdrive to publicly show the world’s wealthiest collectors that they can shop without a glitch—even as privately the house has enlisted a team of internal and external technology experts to resolve the security situation. Currently, it’s sticking to its schedule for its New York slate of six auctions of impressionist, modern and contemporary art, plus two luxury sales, though one watch sale in Geneva scheduled for Monday was postponed to today.
The first big test for Christie’s comes tonight with the estimated $25 million estate sale of top Miami collector Rosa de la Cruz, who died in February and whose private foundation offerings include “Untitled” (America #3),” a string of lightbulbs by Félix González-Torres estimated to sell for at least $8 million.
Cerutti said no consignors to Christie’s have withdrawn their works from its sales this week as a result of the security incident. After the De la Cruz sale, Christie’s 21st Century sale on Tuesday will include a few pricier heavyweights, including a Brice Marden diptych, “Event,” and a Jean-Michel Basquiat from 1982, “The Italian Version of Popeye Has no Pork in his Diet,” each estimated to sell for at least $30 million.
But the cyberattack has already altered the way some collectors might experience these bellwether auctions at Christie’s. Registered online bidders used to be able to log into the main website before clicking to bid in sales. This week, the house will email them a secure link redirecting them to a private Christie’s Live site where they can watch and bid in real time. Everyone else will be encouraged to call in or show up to bid at the house’s saleroom in Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan.
If more bidders show up in person, the experience might prove to be a squeeze. During the pandemic, Christie’s reconfigured its main saleroom from a vast, well-lit space that could fit several hundred people into a spotlit set that more closely evokes a television studio, with far fewer seats and more roving cameras—all part of the auction industry’s broader effort to entice more collectors as well as everyday art lovers to tune in, online.
Once this smaller-capacity saleroom is filled, Christie’s said it will direct people into overflow rooms elsewhere in the building. Those who want to merely watch the sale can’t watch on Christie’s website like usual but can follow along via Christie’s YouTube channel.
Art adviser Anthony Grant said he typically shows up to bid on behalf of his clients in these major sales, though he said his collectors invariably watch the sales online as well so they can “read the room” in real time and text him updates. This week, Grant said a European collector who intends to vie for a work at Christie’s instead gave Grant a maximum amount to spend.
Grant said the cyberattack popped up in a lot of his conversations this past weekend. “There’s a lot of shenanigans going on, and people have grown so sensitive to their banks and hospitals getting hacked,” he said. “Now, their auction house is going through the same thing, and it’s irksome.”
Consumers are going to gravitate toward applications powered by the buzzy new technology, analyst Michael Wolf predicts
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