Bonhams to Auction Original Duffy Archive Items Featuring David Bowie’s 'Aladdin Sane' Cover
The original dye transfer print artwork for the inside cover of David Bowie's Aladdin Sane album leads Bonhams' The Mona Lisa of Pop: The Duffy Archive sale at Bonhams New Bond Street in London. The top lot carries an estimate of £250,000-300,000. Additional items from the Duffy Archive include the Hasselblad camera used for the Aladdin Sane and Scary Monsters shoots, the only two surviving contact sheets for Aladdin Sane, five original contact sheets for Scary Monsters, and five vintage prints from the Scary Monsters session.
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The sale coincides with the opening of the David Bowie Centre at V&A East, offering collectors direct access to objects that document a nine-year creative partnership between Duffy and Bowie. Items such as the handwritten note on the lightning bolt design and the camera itself provide tangible context for how the images were produced and circulated. The auction therefore functions as both a market event and an archival release timed to institutional recognition of the same body of work.
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- Artists: Duffy, David Bowie
- People: Chris Duffy, Claire Tole-Moir
- Auction Houses: Bonhams
- Museums: V&A East
- Locations: London
- Prices: £250,000-300,000, £150,000-200,000, £10,000-15,000
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