Some 1,500 personal items formerly belonging to Freddie Mercury are to go up for auction as part of a month-long exhibition at Sotheby’s this summer.
Commencing on 4 August, the Freddie Mercury: A World Of His Own exhibition will finish on what would have been the icon’s 77th birthday, 5 September.
This major exhibition will see the contents of Garden Lodge – the former Kensington home of Mercury, who acquired the Georgian-style brick villa home in 1980 – available to the public at Sotheby’s 16,000 square-foot gallery space.
Since Mercury’s death in 1991, the art, objects, handwritten lyrics and other personal objects stored at Garden Lodge were cared for by the late singer’s close friend Mary Austin.
Freddie Mercury with his close friend Mary Austin. Photo: Dave Hogan/Getty Images.
Speaking on the new upcoming exhibition, Austin has said: “For many years now, I have had the joy and privilege of living surrounded by all the wonderful things that Freddie sought out and so loved. But the years have passed, and the time has come for me to take the difficult decision to close this very special chapter in my life.
“It was important to me to do this in a way that I felt Freddie would have loved, and there was nothing he loved more than an auction.”
In total, there will be six dedicated auctions for the items, which will be led by a sale on 6 September where the most significant items will be offered.
Two further live auctions will follow on 7 and 8 September; the first will be dedicated to Mercury “On Stage”, the second dedicated to his life “At Home”, and to the objects he kept at Garden Lodge.
Photo: Richard Young
Three online auctions will also run alongside these sales, with one shining a light on Mercury’s love of Japan, and the other two – “Crazy Little Things”, Parts One and Two – presenting an array of curious memorabilia that Mercury also kept.
Anyone interested can sign up to Sotheby’s dedicated auction page, for the latest information on the exhibition and sales – where they can also order a Collection Book, a commemorative volume that brings to life the story of Mercury and the objects in the collection.
