Original artwork print for cover of David Bowie’s ‘Aladdin Sane’ going up for auction

The original artwork for David Bowie’s iconic album Aladdin Sane, shot by photographer Brian Duffy aka Duffy, is going up for auction.

The original dye transfer artwork print will be part of The Mona Lisa of Pop: The Duffy Archive auction, taking place Oct. 22 through Nov. 5 at Bonhams in London and bonhams.com. The print is expected to sell for somewhere between $340,000 and $400,000.

The cover art is one of many Aladdin Sane-related pieces that will be part of the auction. Others include the original dye transfer print of the album’s inside cover; the original Hasselblad camera used by Duffy to shoot Aladdin Sane and 1980’s Scary Monsters; the stool Bowie sat on for the Aladdin Sane photo; contact sheets from the photo shoot; and a handwritten note by Duffy explaining the cover’s lightning bolt design.

“Duffy’s iconic photography, paired with Bowie’s incomparable artistic vision, captured the spirit of a generation and cemented their place in cultural history,” Claire Tole-Moir, head of Bonhams’ Popular Culture Department, says. “As collaborators, they produced a body of work that defined the visual language of the 1970s and beyond, influencing music, fashion, and photography.”

She adds that the auction “will be a rare and thrilling opportunity for collectors and fans to own a piece of Duffy/Bowie history.”

Aladdin Sane was released in April 1973. The cover featured a red-haired Bowie, with a red-and-blue lightning bolt down the middle of his face.

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