Now that Elton John has retired form touring, the global pop superstar is downsizing. After selling his longtime home in Atlanta, John is liquidating the museum-worthy collection of art, photography and personal effects he collected in the sprawling 13,000-square foot penthouse/gallery on Peachetree Road. On Thursday (Feb. 8), John’s husband and manager, David Furnish, spoke to Good Morning America about the sale while spotlighting some of the most interesting pieces going under the gavel starting Friday (Feb. 9).
“This has brought Elton a lot of joy. He always liked to go out to do shows to earn money to collect more things that he loved and that inspired him,” Furnish told GMA, while standing in the museum-like space and showing off pieces headed for the “Goodbye Peachtree Road” Christie’s auction that begins tomorrow and lasts through Feb. 21.
The collection comprised of photography, art and objects collected by John since 1991 at his Peachtree Road apartment in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood includes everything from pieces by British artists Damien Hirst and Banksy, as well as ones from iconic American artists Julian Schnabel, Andy Warhol, Robert Mapplethorpe and Keith Haring, a pair of John’s silver leather platform boots from 1971. Also on the list is the Yamaha grand piano from 1992, on which the EGOT honoree wrote his Tony-winning score to the Aida Broadway musical and the score to the Billy Elliott musical.
Other highlights include pictures by photographers Herb Ritts, Richard Avendon, Bruce Weber, Helmut Newton and Cindy Sherman, paintings by American minimalist artist Sol Lewitt, elaborate stage costumes (including one of his first outrageously colorful custom concert outfits from 1971), Rolex watches, a sapphire ring, a Versace set of Rosenthal china and hundreds of individually printed silk shirts by his late friend Gianni Versace.
Christie’s deputy chairman Tash Perrin said the auction will feature price points for everyone, from items that will start with an opening bid of $100 through “significant” art pieces priced at $1 million. In a video promoting the sale, John told anyone thinking of bidding should know that if they buy anything it is going from “one incredibly eager collector who had so much pleasure out of what you’re gonna buy and I hope it finds a good home.”
GMA showed off some of the many mega-blingy jewelry items up for sale, including a jewel-encrusted gold Piaget watch and a custom Hirst painting featuring a picture of the happy couple inside a giant heart , as well as John’s custom black 1990 Bentley convertible.
“It’s a very happy home and a very important chapter in our life,” Furnish said of the couple’s time in Atlanta, during which John launched the Elton John AIDS Foundation. “Elton wouldn’t have been able to have created the music that he did for the stage shows and the albums that he did in Atlanta. It was a place he felt safe and comfortable and really, really inspired. So it was a very magical chapter in our lives, so it is very emotional.”
Check out the GMA preview below.
