On September 24th, following a live preview exhibition (Sept. 22 & 23) at New York City’s fabled Chelsea Hotel, Guernsey’s will be conducting an unprecedented auction celebrating the culture of downtown Manhattan over the last 60 years. In short, there simply has never been an auction like this one.
The Chelsea Hotel, in and of itself, is an iconic place. In 2018, that became clearly evident when Guernsey’s auctioned old Chelsea Hotel doors that had formerly led to the rooms of such accomplished people as Jackson Pollock, Jack Kerouac, Mark Twain, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan and Andy Warhol. That auction shocked the world. The upcoming event will go one (big) step further when the actual neon lettering from the Hotel’s iconic sign, many of the original stained-glass windows that fronted on West 23rd Street, and other Hotel treasures will be sold. (And yes, there will be a few more doors - including Janis Joplin's!)
But that’s just for starters. Back in the 1970’s, a young, beautiful dancer arrived in NYC and started making the rounds of theaters and clubs, hoping to get noticed. But it was a chance meeting with two young musicians that gave Madonna her start. Living together in the most unlikely place (a former synagogue), the fellows taught Madonna how to play guitar and drums. It was there that she then began writing, and singing, her own songs. Starting out as “buskers” (street performers playing for tips), the trio ultimately formed a band - Breakfast Club - and Madonna was on her way to stardom. Her earliest guitars, drums, audio tapes (including her very first recorded song), her letters… all in this auction!
Originals by Jean-Michel Basquiat are amongst the most sought-after works of art in the world today. The New York-born artist roamed the City’s downtown streets, eventually being recognized as perhaps the most imaginative and gifted graffiti artist ever! Among Jean-Michel’s good friends were none other than Andy Warhol and the only other graffiti artist to rival Basquiat’s popularity, Keith Haring. Importantly, this auction will include three original portraits painted by Basquiat honoring his two friends upon their passing.
More than a decade before Madonna got her start, another remarkable talent came from the heartland, started appearing in Greenwich Village clubs, and began a career that influenced a generation. That person is Bob Dylan. Responsible for building the careers of extraordinary entertainers ranging from Billie Holiday to Aretha Franklin to Bruce Springsteen, John Hammond arranged with Columbia Studios for the unknown folk singer to record his first album. Titled simply “Bob Dylan,” that recording launched Dylan’s career. The original tape recordings from that historic session were gifted to a young blind man who has retained them to this day. He now has chosen to sell them, donating the proceeds to an organization that assists the blind.
When Patti Astor passed away earlier this year, the New York Times saw fit to provide a nearly full page obituary about her. In it, it was cited how Patti created Fun Gallery on Manhattan’s lower East Side in the early 1980’s where she was instrumental in introducing artists Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat to the world. Patti went on to appear as a film actress and, increasingly in later life, a widely respected art consultant and lecturer. Wonderful items owned by Patti will be yet another feature of this unique auction.
While the Sept. 25th auction will be conducted online via LiveAuctioneers.com and invaluable.com, the auction preview display will be taking place on Sunday and Monday, Sept. 22 & 23 live at the Chelsea Hotel, 222 West 23rd Street, NYC, the very setting where many of the auction’s treasured items stem from. For complete information, please visit www.guernseys.com or contact the auction house directly at 212-794-2280 / auctions@guernseys.com..
The original individual neon letters from the Hotel’s iconic sign have been
professionally
restored and mounted so that they can be displayed in any setting.
For more than a century, New Yorkers passing by the Chelsea Hotel marveled at the beautiful stained-glass windows.
Guernsey’s 2018 auction included Chelsea Doors, some of which fetched
more than $10
more than $100,000 each! Several more will be sold in the upcoming event.
New Yorkers loved the El Quijote Restaurant within the Chelsea almost as much as they
have loved the Hotel.
Here is one of its signs.
Madonna’s first songs were played on this acoustic guitar. For her first “performances”
on NYC’s streets,
she played this electric guitar.
Madonna learned to play the drums on this set, and then performed with them at NYC’s fabled club, CBGB
While Madonna was learning how to play various instruments, she also recorded the first
songs she wrote and sang.
These are some of those original recordings.
A collection of handwritten notes, letters, and musings that Madonna wrote, many while in Paris c.1979
This is one of many early unpublished photographs in the auction of Madonna before she
became the most
famous entertainer in the world!
A short audio clip of Madonna’s first recordings, never previously heard by the public.
The original recordings from Bob Dylan’s first album. Proceeds from their sale will be assisting the blind.
A sound clip of Bob Dylan’s previously unheard comments during the recording session for his first album
Patti Astor - the woman who brought Graffiti Art into the mainstream - wore this “tagged” jacket.
Created by Keith Haring, this is the poster that promoted Graffiti Art at Patti Astor’s
Fun Gallery.
That early 1980’s show had a major impact on the art world.
One of a number of original works of Graffiti art given to Patti Astor by her stable of
accomplished artists -
this one being Fab 5 Freddy.
