“I love going to auctions and buying antiques… The one thing I would really miss if I actually left Britain would be Sotheby’s.” The words of the late Freddie Mercury, shared by Sotheby’s who have just announced an unprecedented month-long exhibition and auction series featuring the music legend’s never-before-seen private collection.
Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own will be presented at Sotheby’s London saleroom this summer, culminating in six dedicated sales in September. Featuring the contents of Freddie’s beloved home – Garden Lodge, in Kensington, where he fashioned his own private world, creating a home described by Sotheby’s as ‘both grand and intimate, full of theatre and richly furnished with beautiful works of art’ – the sale will include 1,500 objects, from stage costumes to decorative arts, handwritten lyrics to 19th century prints. Amongst the highlights are:
Freddie Mercury’s crown and accompanying cloak, in fake fur, red velvet and rhinestones, made by his friend and costume designer Diana Moseley, thought to be loosely modelled on the coronation crown of the United Kingdom. Indelibly linked to Mercury, they were worn for the finale rendition of “God Save The Queen” during his last tour with Queen, ‘The Magic Tour’, which ended with their very last live show together, at Knebworth in 1986. Estimate £60,000–80,000
Freddie Mercury’s handwritten manuscript working lyrics to ‘We Are The Champions’: the unseen working lyrics to Queen’s greatest anthem, written by Mercury with crowds of sports fans in mind. ‘We Are The Champions’ was released as a single with Queen’s other great mass-participation song, ‘We Will Rock You’, on 7 October 1977. It was an immediate chart success and quickly became a stalwart of Queen’s live performances; being part of a crowd waving and singing along in unison to the chorus has been a unifying and positive experience for hundreds of thousands of Queen fans over the decades. Written across nine pages in total, including some leaves of British Midland Airways stationery. Estimate £200,000–300,000
James Jacques Tissot, Type of Beauty (1880), the last work of art Mercury bought. The painting, which hung in his drawing room, depicts Tissot’s muse and mistress Kathleen Newton – the woman whose beauty helped him establish his artistic standing, but whose background as an Irish Catholic divorcée, whom he moved into his home, scandalised and ruined his reputation in society. Estimate £400,000–600,000
A classic Fabergé gem-set, nephrite and enamel desk clock, circa 1908-17, had pride of place in Mercury’s bedroom. An exquisite piece from the legendary Russian jeweller, this was bought at Sotheby’s in Switzerland, and he kept it with the marked-up auction catalogue close by. Estimate £30,000–50,000
Oliver Barker, Chairman, Sotheby’s Europe, said:
“Freddie Mercury’s sensational life has left us with a rich array of artistic moments that still move and astound us, a legacy that, like his music, will live on forever. As Sotheby’s is transformed into the stage for this remarkable collection, the focus will be as much on Freddie Mercury the showman, celebrating everything we already know about him, as on discovering his less well known private artistic passions. Fittingly lavish in scale, the auction will bring together the expertise of specialists from 30 different collecting categories, and see exhibitions held in four locations across three continents – all culminating in the longest, most spectacular, public exhibition in our company history. How else could we celebrate the legend that is Freddie Mercury?”
In London, items will be displayed in a sequence of specially designed immersive galleries, each one devoted to a different aspect of Mercury’s rich and varied life. The exhibition opens on 4 August and closes on 5 September – which would have been Freddie Mercury’s 77th birthday.
Prior to the London exhibition, highlights from the collection will tour to New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong.
For further information: sothebys.com
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Image: Freddie Mercury’s Crown © Sotheby’s