TORONTO — A painting by glam rock icon Davie Bowie has gone from thrift-store oddity to six-figure fame.
A Toronto auction house says a Bowie painting that was discovered at a donation centre in northern Ontario fetched $108,120 in an online sale that closed Thursday.
Cowley Abbott says "D Head XLVI" drew interest from collectors across the globe, driving up bids well past the pre-sale estimate of between $9,000 and $12,000, and setting a new auction record for the musician-cum-artist.
The 1997 acrylic and computer collage is one of 45 works on canvas in Bowie's "Dead Heads" series depicting band members, friends and the rocker himself.
Cowley Abbott says the consignor purchased the portrait for $5 after finding it in a pile of second-hand goods in South River near North Bay, Ont.
The auction house says the winning bid was placed by a private U.S. collector. The price includes auction house fees.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2021.
The Canadian Press
