Going, going, gone! Every single item from the opening night of the Sir Elton John Collection: Goodbye Peachtree Road auction was snapped up, for a total of eight million bucks.
Among the highlights–and making far more than anticipated–were a Bentley convertible (bringing in over $441,000), grand piano (over $200,000) and signed pinball machine, which was purchased for $69,500. The latter was sold to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
A batch of Versace shirts sold for seven times Christie’s estimate, and a pair of prescription sunglasses went for 10 times what was calculated, at $30,240 and $22,680 respectively. A leopard print Rolex Daytona watch, set with a ring of orange sapphires and diamond hour markers brought in $176,400, almost three times its pre-sale estimate.
A pair of platform boots with the letters ‘E’ and ‘J’ went for 94,500 dollars.
One lot which actually went for less than expected was a Julian Schnabel picture of Elton. However, USD 189,000 is hardly shabby. The biggest seller was Banksy‘s Flower Thrower Triptych, which grossed 1,925,500 dollars.
Elton and his husband obviously had second thoughts about parting with a heart-shaped piece they’d received from Damien Hirst. It was ”the lone withdrawal” from the auction, as the Art Newspaper pointed out, and rather personal, with a photograph of the couple and inscription reading ”xxx” for Elton and David.
As a lot of fans are asking us, you can watch here the Christie’s Livestream | The Collection of Sir Elton John: Opening Night
Following Christie’s Opening Night was their Day Sale. It consisted of two sessions and netted over six million dollars. The first part consisted of important photographs [Elton became a collector while living in Atlanta] and Session Two was a celebration of his place in Georgia, including furnishings, jewelry and clothing. We particularly liked a couple of wool suits–Nudie Cohn‘s blue embroidered one, which was sold for over ten thousand dollars, and a Keith Gregory Fleming-Haberstroh psychedelic design (which went for a few thousand more) to promote Wonderful Crazy Night. With the former, it’s hard not to think of the Nudie suit Elton wore to promote Rocket Man and as best man when Bernie Taupin married Maxine Feibelman. In addition, Elton wore the outfit during an early Top of The Pops appearance.
It is currently in the exhibit, Western Edge: Roots And Reverberations, at the Country Museum Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. Chris Ethridge was the initial owner, until it was snatched from his car. Oddly enough, it wound up back at the tailor’s shop, where it then caught Elton’s eye.
In the art category, we noticed some Elton John images. In Norman Parkinson‘s photos, Elton has on a newsboy cap and holds a bouquet. In Todd Murphy‘s illustration, the subject looks more like a scholar than a singer. But the piece sold for over $113,000, way over Christie’s presale assessment.
You don’t have to worry about big bucks when it comes to ej.w and our Radio-Elton podcast. The latest episode features Terry Carty, who has worked with both Elton and Bernie. He shares anecdotes, including his role in the 11-17-70 album (17-11-70 in the UK).
It’s been almost five years since the live action remake of The Lion King. Disney will come out with its prequel, Mufasa: The Lion King, on 20 December. We doubt Elton will be involved, seeing that he thought the ”magic and joy” of the original was lost in Jon Favreau‘s version. Meanwhile, Elton and Lee Hall‘s Billy Elliot musical ”still works,” to quote the Chicago Tribune. It is running through 24 March at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora, Illinois. The reviewer considers it to be Elton’s best score for the theatre–even superior to The Lion King.
Elton and Shaina Taub‘s The Devil Wears Prada musical is to open on the West End in London, England, later this year. One of the main roles has been filled by Vanessa Williams, who has been seen in Desperate Housewives and Ugly Betty. She now plays ‘Miranda Priestly,’ the editor-in-chief of Runway magazine.
Vanessa Williams IS Miranda Priestly. That’s all. pic.twitter.com/C2WfviFFyk
— The Devil Wears Prada A New Musical (@PradaWestEnd) February 19, 2024
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