New York, NY – September 25, 2024: Get ready for a one-of-a-kind auction on September 25, 2024, as Guernsey’s celebrates six decades of downtown Manhattan’s legendary history and culture with an extraordinary sale.
The auction will feature rare and personal items from icons like Madonna, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kenny Scharf, Bob Dylan, Patti Astor, and even treasures from the famed Chelsea Hotel. This highly anticipated event will be held online through LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com, with a public preview exhibition at The Chelsea Hotel at 222 West 23rd Street, New York City, on September 22nd and 23rd.
Auction Highlights:
Among the standout pieces are personal items from superstar Madonna, including her first guitar and drums, handwritten letters, and audio tapes featuring her first recorded song. These items harken back to the 1970s when Madonna was an aspiring artist living in Queens with Dan and Ed Gilroy, who taught her how to play the instruments being auctioned.
The Chelsea Hotel Items Include:
Original room doors.
Stained-glass windows.
The iconic neon Hotel Chelsea sign has graced the building for decades.
Janis Joplin’s hotel door and the twelve giant neon letters that once illuminated the skyline and were featured on Saturday Night Live are among the treasures up for grabs.
Also making headlines are three rare early works by Jean-Michel Basquiat. These original portraits, depicting his contemporaries Andy Warhol and Keith Haring, were created honouring his friends after their passing, capturing the spirit of New York’s groundbreaking 1970s and ’80s downtown art scene.
Patti Astor, a key figure in introducing street artists like Haring and Basquiat to the world through her Fun Gallery, will have personal items, including a “tagged” jacket, up for auction. Astor, an actress and later a respected art consultant, helped shape the cultural landscape of Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
Additionally, original tape recordings from Bob Dylan’s first album recording session at Columbia Studios will be available. These tapes, gifted to a blind young man by the folk legend, will be sold with proceeds benefiting a foundation supporting blind people.
This auction is more than just an event—it celebrates New York’s vibrant cultural history. Don’t miss your chance to own a piece of downtown Manhattan’s legacy!