LONDON – Fans of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury will be able to get a look into his personal collection of artworks, costumes and instruments for the first time since his untimely death in the early 1990s.
Mercury’s private collection will be put on display in a traveling exhibition in June before heading to Sotheby’s London where an auction will take place, giving fans and collectors a chance to own one of Mercury’s personal belongings.
Mary Austin, Mercury’s former girlfriend and lifelong friend, told Harper’s Bazaar “For many years now, I have had the joy and privilege of living surrounded by all the wonderful things that Freddie sought out and so loved. But the years have passed, and the time has come for me to take the difficult decision to close this very special chapter in my life.”
Austin has lived in the home Mercury bought in Kensington, an area of London, for the last 30 years.
She said the home has remained almost exactly as Mercury left it when he died of AIDS in 1991.
“Freddie was an incredible and intelligent collector who showed us that there is beauty and fun and conversation to be found in everything; I hope this will be an opportunity to share all the many facets of Freddie, both public and private, and for the world to understand more about, and celebrate, his unique and beautiful spirit,” Austin told Bazaar.
The exhibition will be on display in New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong on various dates in June, according to Sotheby’s.
The collection will then move to London where it will be on display from Aug. 4 through Sept. 5 before the live auction starts on Sept. 6.
You can register to bid online. There will be advance bidding ahead of the live auction.