Skip to main content
  • Editions
    • International
    • China
    • France
    • India
    • Australia
    • United Kingdom
    • Hong Kong
    • Canada
    • Brazil
    • Germany
    • Russia
  • Magazines
    • Art+Auction

      Modern Painters

  • Blogs
  • Videos
  • Photo Galleries
  • Blouin Art Sales Index
  • Gallery Guide
  • Art Sites
  • Boutique
  • Log in

    Not a member?

    Sign up

    Log in

    |Forgot your password?
    OR
    Sign up
  • Sign up
Home
  • Visual Arts
    • Visual Arts Home
    • Contemporary Art
    • Old Masters/Renaissance
    • Impressionism & Modern Art
    • Ancient Arts & Antiques
    • Traditional Arts
    • Museums
    • Reviews
    • Columnists
    • Features
  • Performing Arts
    • Performing Arts Home
    • Film
    • Music
    • Theater & Dance
  • Architecture & Design
    • Architecture & Design Home
    • Design
    • Architecture
  • Artists
  • ART PRICES
  • Market News
    • Market News Home
    • Art Fairs
    • Auctions
    • Collecting
    • Galleries
    • Databank
    • Art & Crime
    • ART PRICES
    • Columnists
  • Style & Society
    • Style Home
    • ART Parties/Scene
    • Fashion
    • Food & Wine
    • Jewelry & Watches
    • Autos & Boats
  • Events
  • Travel
  • Blogs
  • Videos
  • Slideshows
  • Homepage RSS
  • tumblr

Search form

English, United Kingdom
May 16, 2012 Last Updated: 11:30:AM EDT

New Low? Auction House Announces Sale of Whitney Houston Memorabilia as Singer Is Buried

New Low? Auction House Announces Sale of Whitney Houston Memorabilia as Singer Is Buried

English
  • Email
  • Print
  • Save
  • Tweet
  • Pin It
Whitney Houston Bodyguard
© 1992 - Warner Bros. All rights reserved.
Whitney Houston in „Bodyguard”
by Ann Binlot
Published: February 21, 2012
Houstons Kleid und Ohrringe aus"Bodyguard" sollen versteigert werden/AP

Opportunists looking to profit off of Whitney Houston’s sudden death February 11 may have reached a new low. The pop superstar was only laid to rest last Sunday, but in truly tacky form, celebrity auctioneer Darren Julien felt it was the right day to announce that items worn by Houston would go to auction March 31 and April 1.

Julien said that a black velvet dress (valued at $1,000) owned by Houston, along with a pair of faux pearl drop earrings (listed at $600) and a satin vest ($400) the singer wore in “The Bodyguard,” and other items recently became available after she unexpectedly died. The pieces are expected to sell for much more than their listed prices. The long-planned “Hollywood Legends” sale of celebrity memorabilia will also include Charlie Chaplin’s cane, Clark Gable’s jacket from “Gone With the Wind,” and the staff Charlton Heston used in “The Ten Commandments.”

"It's a celebration of her life," Julien told the Associated Press. "If you hide these things in fear that you're going to offend someone – her life is to be celebrated. These items are historic now that she passed. They become a part of history. They should be in museums. She's lived a life and had a career that nobody else has ever had."

It’s not that the items owned by Houston should be hidden in fear of offending somebody. It’s more about waiting out of respect for the deceased and her family before trying to capitalize off the star. Coincidentally, Julien’s Auctions stumbled on the same luck in 2009, when Michael Jackson ephemera was scheduled to go to auction less than 24 hours after he died on June 25. But unlike the Houston objects, the sale of the Jackson items had been arranged prior to his death. Elizabeth Taylor’s estate didn’t go to auction at Christie’s until nine months after her death.

Julien’s Auctions isn’t the only company that's raised a few eyebrows in the past week-and-a-half. Sony Music U.K. increased the price of Houston albums on U.K. iTunes for several  hours after her death, but has since apologized, blaming it on an employee error. Journalist Dan McDermott accused Netflix of trying to make money by removing “The Bodyguard” from its streaming selections when a representative allegedly told him that the studio had the film pulled from the service in the wake of Houston's passing. McDermott retracted his accusation after Netflix said that the film hasn’t been available for streaming since its license was lost last year, and that it has nothing to do with the singer’s death.

Share This Story

  • Tweet This

  • Post to Stumble Upon
  • Email to a Friend

 

Like what you see?

Sign up for our DAILY NEWSLETTER and get our best stories delivered to your inbox.

Go to top ↑
by Ann Binlot,Auctions, Performing Arts, Music, Style & Society, Fashion, Jewelry & Watches,
Share:
  • Tweet
  • Email to a Friend

Comments

0 Comments
+ Add Yours
Log in or register to post comments
Oldest first Newest first

Most Popular

The ARTINFO Bookshelf: 40 Books That Every Artist Should Own, Part I
Banksy Mocks the Queen's Jubilee, Sotheby's is Doing Art Fairs Now, and More Must-Read Art News
The Case of the Bought-In Richter — A Market Mystery Solved
Milwaukee Art Museum Fights for Custody of Saarinen-Designed Building Amid Proposed $15-Million Revamp
The Tastemaker: Feminist Artist Mickalene Thomas on Her Paint-Stained Margiela Shoes and More
Martin Scorsese Revs Up for “Silver Ghost,” the Story of Rolls-Royce and a Doomed Love Affair
Climbing Tomas Saraceno's Modular Hall of Mirrors on the Met's Roof

Popular on Social Media

  • Pavel Pepperstein, No. 1 from the series "Ophelia," 2012
    Father and Son Viktor Pivovarov and Pavel Pepperstein Reinvent Ophelia at Regina Gallery
  • It's Not Just About Sports — London Gets (Even More) Arty for the Olympic Games
  • Kitchen Pans and a How-to for Suicides: the Damien Hirst You Don't Know
  • Jerwood Gallery, Hastings, HAT Projects
    Heading South: The Jerwood Gallery Champions British Art in Hastings
  • Alice Channer in her studio
    "It Was Like Making a Weapon": Rising Star Alice Channer on Her South London Gallery Exhibition, Fabric, and Capital

GO TO:

Market News Home Market News Archive

Editorial

  • Visual Arts
  • Performing Arts
  • Architecture & Design
  • Artists
  • ART PRICES
  • Market News
  • Style & Society
  • Events
  • Travel
  • Blogs
  • Videos
  • Slideshows

Products

  • Magazines
  • Gallery Guide
  • Blouin Art Sales Index
  • Somogy
  • Art Sites
  • Art Jobs

Louise Blouin Media

  • About Us
  • Subscriptions
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Louise Blouin Foundation
  • RSS
Copyright © 2012 All rights reserved. Use of the site constitutes agreement with our Privacy Policy and User Agreement.