Elton John Is Auctioning off the Contents of His Atlanta Home. Of Course, It’s as Extra as You’d Think
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Last November, it was “Goodbye Peachtree Road” for Sir Elton John after the legendary singer-songwriter sold his long-time Atlanta condo for $7.225 million. John will also be saying goodbye to its contents, which include his Bentley Continental, his Atlanta Braves jersey, and dozens of Versace silk shirts, as part of an unparalleled series of sales at Christie’s next month in New York.
The auction, which will be made up of eight separate live and online sales kicking off February 21, paints a portrait of a man with simultaneously wide-ranging and specific tastes. There’s a trio of gilt Italianate chairs covered in a Versace velvet and a diamond necklace proclaiming “The Bitch Is Back” (a reference to a 1974 song of the same name). There’s vertiginous silver platform boots and an ivory jumpsuit that resembles a glam rock version of Kermit the Frog.
But there’s also a museum-worthy collection of photography—with works by fashion photographers like Richard Avedon and Helmut Newton in addition to prints by fine artists like Wolfgang Tillmans, Hiroshi Sugimoto, and Candida Höfer—as well as personal pieces, like a heart-shaped collage that Damien Hirst made for John and his husband, David Furnish.
“I’ve always been an accumulator, but I haven’t always been a collector in the fullest sense,” John told Interview in 1998. “Before...1990, it was a whole mishmash of things I bought from all over the world, a bit like a high-class junk store. When I got sober, my taste completely changed. I either like things really traditional or really modern, and I don’t really like things in between that much.”
The Academy Award–winning songwriter made Atlanta his U.S. home base in 1991 in pursuit of sobriety and a quieter lifestyle. It was here, in the city’s exclusive Buckhead neighborhood that “I really started collecting,” he told Interview.
The sale, titled “The Collection of Sir Elton John: Goodbye Peachtree Road,” comes at the conclusion of John’s farewell tour, which wrapped last July. “I didn’t know what the first apartment that I bought would lead to,” John told the Wall Street Journal. “But it was a wonderful surprise. Everything about Atlanta was a surprise.”
“This extraordinary collection not only showcases a diverse array of remarkable objects that encapsulate Elton’s unique life, work, and art, but also provides our clients with a glimpse into the profound impact that the city of Atlanta had on him,” said Tash Perrin, the deputy chairman for Christie’s Americas, in a press release.
Each item for sale, she added, “is a testament to a man’s eclectic vision, artistry, and impeccable taste.”
Even if you can’t pony up $30,000 for, say, John’s Yamaha grand piano, fans can drop by Christie’s Rockefeller Plaza exhibition space in New York beginning February 9 to view collection highlights.
Elton John’s Yamaha Conservatory Grand Piano, Model C6F PE
Estimate: $30,000–$50,000
Terry O’Neill, ‘Elton John’ (Album Cover Variant)
Estimate: $6,000–$8,000
A Group of Seven Versace Shirts, c. 1993
Estimate: $4,000–$6,000
An Ivory and Gold Ensemble
Estimate: $8,000–$12,000
Damien Hirst, ‘Your Song’
Estimate: $350,000–$450,000
Cartier, 18k-Gold Limited Edition Asymmetrical Wristwatch with ‘Crash’ Deployant
Estimate: $70,000–$100,000
A Pair of Silver Leather Tall Platform Boots
Estimate $5,000–$10,000
Irving Penn, Black and White ‘Vogue’ Cover, 1950
Estimate: $100,000–$150,000
A Pair of 20th-Century Faux Bois Demi Lune Console Tables
Estimate: $4,000–$6,000
A Pair of 20th-Century Italian Blue Glass and Giltwood Mirrors
Estimate: $10,000–$20,000
A Sycamore-Banded Chaise Longue by David Linley Ltd.
Estimate: $3,000–$5,000
Set of Three North Italian Cream Painted and Parcel-Gilt Armchairs
Estimate: $3,000–$5,000
Keith Haring, ‘Best Buddies’
Estimate: $15,000–$20,000
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