I don’t know if I find this sad, creepy, interesting or exciting (frankly, all of the aforementioned), but The Gloved One’s items from his now notorious Neverland Ranch are being auctioned off in a little over a month and I’ve got the lowdown for you, from the auction catalog covers to some of the actual auction items and their estimated prices. (Note: this post and auction took place, coincidentally, one month before Michael Jackson’s death on June 25th 2009).
Neverland Ranch Auction
The Michael Jackson Neverland Ranch Auction
More than 2,000 items of fine and decorative arts, furniture, memorabilia, arcade games, Disneyana, and garden statuary from Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch will be auctioned off at Julien’s in Beverly Hills.
photo courtesy of terrastories.com/bearings/inside-neverland-ranch
The immense collection represents the personal property and contents of Michael Jackson’s private amusement park and family residence to be sold during a live auction, televised and real-time online auction broadcast by Auction Network to be held at 9900 Wilshire Blvd adjacent to the Beverly Hilton Hotel from April 22nd through April 25th, 2009.
Iconic memorabilia from Jackson’s career is featured alongside his luxurious home furnishings and profuse amusements in this once-in-a-lifetime auction of Neverland Ranch.
The exhibition, King of Pop: A once in a lifetime Auction Featuring The Personal Property of Michael Jackson with a Portion of the Proceeds Benefiting MusiCares®, will take place in Beverly Hills, adjacent to The Beverly Hilton on April 14th – April 21st. Admission cost is $20 per person each day.
The Auction Catalogs:
above: The boxed set of the five auction catalogs (shown individually below) is available for purchase here, either signed or unsigned.
Session I: Garden Statuary and Outdoor Furniture
Session II: Furniture and Decorative Arts
Session III: Furniture and Decorative Arts
Session IV: Antiques, Paintings and Fine Decorative Art
Session V and VI: Amusements, Arcade Games and Disneyana
Session VII: Memorabilia From the Life and Career of Michael Jackson
above photos courtesy of Julien’s Auction House.
Observer Music Monthly has obtained this world exclusive preview of some of the items going under the hammer, and here are some of the more interesting ones:
The sale also includes vintage video game machines, as well as Jackson’s collection of 18th- and 19th-century art. There are books about Disney, the Three Stooges, Peter Pan and Alfred Hitchcock, as well as a collection of black history books, including the autobiography of Malcolm X.
Then there is a selection of his own stage costumes, dating back from the days of the Jackson 5 through to the present. There is one of the fedoras he wore in the video for Billie Jean; a pair of trousers so studded with diamanté that they feel as heavy as chain mail; there are customized military jackets, featuring insignia surely acquired on his global travels – including badges from the Royal Air Force and the Thai Narcotics Bureau.
All Photographs Courtesy of Shaan Kokin/Julien’s Auctions
About Neverland Ranch:
The ranch opened as a private amusement park in 1988, with its own zoo and Ferris wheel, roller coaster and bumper cars. It was named after Peter Pan’s fantasy island where children never grow up, and for years children would arrive by the busload, invited to play freely in its grounds. But following the 2005 child molestation trial – which saw Jackson acquitted of all charges – the singer never returned to the 2,800-acre property in the Santa Ynez Valley, 130 miles west of Los Angeles. The ranch has recently been renamed Sycamore Valley Ranch.
photo courtesy of terrastories.com/bearings/inside-neverland-ranch
Wanna watch the auction live online? Auction Network will broadcast live streaming video of the auction and provide viewers with real-time, interactive bidding during the auction. Bidding is now closed for this auction.
Check out the best, weirdest and worst art inspired by Michael Jackson here.