b-b-bonus this week in outsider art // january tenth
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FIND OF THE WEEK
Well look what we have here. As expected, the folks at Ledbetter Folk Art Auction have a few more Marvin Bailey eyeball jugs up for auction, and this one could be yours (or mine) this Friday. These eyeball jugs have set the world (Instagram) (my account) on fire in the past few months, with the three I posted — all coming from Ledbetter auctions — gaining the most likes out of any of the works posted in 2023. Not surprisingly! They’re the coolest! I particulary like this one as the eyes feel less perfect, more googly, and not as refined. Maybe it’s an early eyeball jug? Whenever it was made, it’s a delight. Best of luck to all bidders.
B-B-BONUS
This week marked the birth date of the late great David Bowie, born as David Jones on January 8th, 1947 in Brixton, London, United Kingdom. One of the most influential musicians, fashion icons, and seemingly all around good guy also had an extremely impressive contemporary art collection.
Dabbling as an artist himself, as highlighted in a B-B-Bonus Newsletter published a few months ago, Bowie had long been an admirer of outsider and self-taught art. Taking a visit to the Galerie Gugging in 1994, a studio and gallery at the historic Gugging psychiatric hospital outside of Austria, Bowie was inspired by these artists and even owning their works.
So naturally, in November 2016 just a few months after David Bowie’s death, his impressive collection as up for sale at auction by Sotheby’s. Again, an increidbly brilliant collection, I combed through over a hundred works to bring you ten of my favorites, by these self-taught artists from Gugging.
All works were owned by Davie Bowie and sold in 2016 by Sothebys, the estimated price put up by the auction house included with the title of each work.