George Michael's testament is not only the songs he wrote, sang and the emotions he shared with his audience, after the auction on March 14 - organized to offer the public the various works of art owned by the British singer - it is also the charity that continues to do. All the works put up for auction have generated income for a worth more than £13 million.
The entire sum will be donated to charity with the aim of continuing the philanthropic work already started by George Michael, an icon of music during the 25s and 2016s who passed away on 14 December XNUMX. The physical auction on XNUMX March is was accompanied by aonline auction between 8 and 15 March.
During the evening of Thursday 14, approximately 10,85 million pounds, while the online sale has raised proceeds for 2,41 million, totaling an overall value five times higher than expected. The works up for auction were over two hundred and the starting price was 400 pounds.
George Michael was an avid and curious collector and owned some of the most interesting works in the world, such as Damien Hirst's 'The Incomplete Truth', a dove preserved in formalin which sold for £911.250; “Saint Sebastian, Exquisite Pain”, again by Damien Hirst, sold for £875.250; and "Songbird", the first valuable work purchased by the singer, which is a 1982 painting by Bridget Riley and which was auctioned for 791.250 pounds.
There were around 15 bidders and they came from 52 countries around the world. The sales record during the evening of 14 March was broken by works by Jim Lambie, Angus Fairhurst, Harland Miller e James white while among the most successful names of the online auction they are to be remembered Michael Birth, Father Bodine, Angela Bulloch, Michael Craig Martin, Julie cockburn, Henry Coombes, Junior Toscanelli e Héctor Velázquez.
Also up for auction was the self-portrait commissioned by George Michael from Craig-Martin which sold online for 204 million.
According to the spokesperson for Christie's Cristian Albu, most of the works in the collection were purchased by the singer between 2004 and 2009: “I'm sure he had consultants, but I think he had personal tastes that always led him to buy what he liked. He had a taste for contemporary art. We are honored to be entrusted with George Michael's collection – a unique opportunity for collectors, art enthusiasts and connoisseurs, as well as his legions of fans around the world. Philanthropy was very important in George Michael's life and he wanted it to be like this even after his death ».
