Listen to this articleDear 2 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated using AI-based technology. Pronunciation errors may occur. We work with our partners to continually review and improve results. Turn around and face the strange thing: channel changes could be coming to your living room wall. A rare signed David Bowie self-portrait is up for auction and it even has his handprints on it – although it will set you back a pretty penny. The piece, made by the singer in 1996, will go on the market for the first time as part of Sotheby’s Modern British and Irish Art Day auction on October 15. It is estimated to sell for between £35,000 and £55,000 (approximately $66,000 to $104,000 Canadian). Bowie originally gifted the painting to his St Ives gallerist. Now, after three decades of being in a private collection, the work is on public view in London ahead of its next auction.WATCH | Remembering David Bowie: CBC’s Laurie Brown, who interviewed David Bowie several times, remembers the iconic musician’s ever-changing image over the years. It is part of a series of eight large-scale portraits he made in the mid-1990s, this being the most expressive of the group. “This self-portrait captures David Bowie at his most creative and self-reflective. His direct gaze and imprinted footprints in the composition create an unusually personal connection with the artist,” Sotheby’s Senior Specialist Jen Hardie wrote in a press release. “Bold and richly coloured, it demonstrates the strength of Bowie’s painting practice in the 1990s and offers a rare opportunity to encounter him not as a musician or cultural icon, but as an artist in his own right.” It doesn’t end on your living room wall, check it out here. This self-portrait, taken by David Bowie in 1996, will come on the market for the first time as part of Sotheby’s Modern British and Irish Art Day auction on October 15. (Courtesy of Sotheby’s) In the painting, which was done on paper, the musician, actor and performer looks directly at the viewer, emphasizing his famous pupils of unequal size: one was larger than the other, creating the impression of irises of different colors. And of course, the handprints Bowie pressed on either side of the painting’s bottom third are an especially intimate touch. So if you’ve ever wanted a literally hands-on piece of Starman history, now’s your chance.
