David Bowie’s album artworks are among the musician’s memorabilia up for auction.
For fans of David Bowie, this is a dream come true: the opportunity to buy original David Bowie art, drawings, portraits, sculptures, and photo sessions of the group from the personal collection of the artist, who created the cover of one of his most successful albums.
When Bowie commissioned Edward Bell to create the cover art for the highly acclaimed album Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) after the Berlin Trilogy, it was the beginning of a relationship that lasted until the 1990s, including rock and pop chameleon. The tin of the Machine Period too.
The album marked Bowie’s transition to a more commercial approach to music-making, which brought him his greatest success three years later with Let’s Dance and The Serious Moonlight tour.
Now, Halls Fine Art Auction House in Shrewsbury, UK, partnered with Dory Gallery in Wales to present unique David Bowie art for sale. They are some personally signed by Bowie himself and all offered for the first time on the market – at a dedicated online auction called The David Bowie Collection by the artist Edward Bell.
David Bowie art for sale includes a series of portraits depicting Bowie as Lazarus and a Savage Heart sculpture created to decorate the CD cover for Tin Machine II. Perhaps of greatest interest to fans will be the original evidence for the 1980s hit Fashion and the original evidence for the Scary Monsters album cover design, Bell’s original diptych sketch with Bowie for the Scary Monsters album, and the original photographs that inspired him.
Pricing for David Bowie art is also affordable, with much of what is on offer running in the hundreds of pounds, with the most sought-after items, including proof of Scary Monsters, cover designs, rising to £ 1,000-2,000.
“My personal favorite is Lot 42, the Wild Heart sculpture that was modeled on Bowie’s torso for Tin Machine II,” says Halls Fine Art specialist Abigail Molenaar.
David Bowie album artwork has not only traced his musical evolution but also elevated record sleeves to the status of high art.
From the pompadours and sideburns of the original rock and roll era to the safety pins and dyed mohawks that defined the punk movement, the image has always been a part of the music. However, it was only after David Bowie was able to fully understand how visual effects could improve their performance.
Bringing a new theatricality to rock, Bowie himself became a walking work of art, expressing every creative phase in new imagery and dramatic changes to his image. David Bowie’s best album covers not only trace the sonic revolutions that played out in his recordings but also elevated album covers to high art status, creating some of the most iconic images in pop culture history.
Top 5 David Bowie Album Covers
On our list of David Bowie Album Artworks, we look back to an artist who featured many different looks and characters throughout his career. His album covers often featured characters he created that defined the music and concept of those very albums.
David Bowie’s first album was released in 1967. It was entitled “David Bowie.” His last album was released in 2016 under the title Blackstar. Between these two recordings, David Bowie released one of the most massive, deep, vibrant, and original pieces in the history of classic rock.
We focused on those we considered the most iconic and deeply rooted in pop culture.
Diamond Dogs
There was no doubt that David Bowie album artwork Diamond Dogs album cover would be our pick for the best David Bowie album cover. The Diamond Dogs was released in 1974. The album cover was printed from a painting by Belgian artist Guy Peellaert. David Bowie’s half, half canine, caused a lot of controversies because when the door was opened from front to back, male genitals were visible on it. The album cover was quickly censored.
Aladdin Sane
David Bowie’s character on the Aladdin Sane album cover was basically a sequel to Ziggy Stardust’s character from the previous album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. David Bowie described the character on the Aladdin Sane album cover as “Ziggy Goes America.”
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and Spiders from Mars by David Bowie is his greatest piece of music ever. This is a brilliant album that solidifies his genius legacy.
Low
David Bowie’s album cover Low has always evoked a haunting, futuristic feeling from those who have looked at it for nearly fifty years. Further fueling the album cover design was Bowie’s grandiose use of color in his album covers. David Bowie album art has always combined many aspects of photography, design, and color integration between text, backsplash, and David Bowie himself. Low is a perfect example of all this in a very simple way that has a lot of impacts.
Pin Ups
The great album Pin Ups was released in 1973. The cover has an interesting history. David Bowie is featured with a 1960s pop culture icon and model Twiggy. They were doing a shoot for Vogue Magazine. David Bowie was able to capture the photo to use for his Pin Ups cover album. Bowie had strength!
