Jussi Pylkkänen, Global President of Christie’s, added: “To realize such a significant sum, with proceeds from the sale being used to continue George Michael’s philanthropic work, is what we’ve all been working towards.”
“The Incomplete Truth”, a 2006 Damien Hirst work depicting a dove hovering in formaldehyde, fetched the highest price of the evening, raising £911,250 ($1,210,000).
The Incomplete Truth.CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2019
A second Hirst piece — a bull encased in formaldehyde titled “Saint Sebastian, Exquisite Pain” — sold for £875,250 ($1,162,000).
Called “Untitled (SEX)”, “Untitled (GOD)” and “Handcuffs”, the pieces sold for a total of £277,500 ($369,000)
Angus Fairhurst’s one-armed bronze gorilla sculpture, “A Couple of Difference Between Thinking and Feeling II”, which used to live in Michael’s garden, also fetched £95,000 ($125,811).
A Couple of Differences Between Thinking and Feeling II.CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2019
“I’m sure he had advisors but I think he pleased himself and made up his own mind what he liked,” Cristian Albu from Christie’s told the BBC about Michael’s art buying, adding that it was “most intense” between 2004 and 2009.
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In the lead-up to the auction key works from Michael’s collection were shown in New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Shanghai, before returning to London where the sale of catalogs and limited-edition tote bags raised a further £250,000 ($332,000) for Michael’s philanthropic works.
Michael waslaid to restthree months after his death in an intimate ceremony at Highgate Cemetery, London.
source: people.com
