Celebrity Collectors is a series that explores the fascinating and mysterious world of high-profile art collections.
When the Beckham household name is reportedly worth upwards of $1 billion, one wonders the kind of art that the family collects. In fact, David and Victoria Beckham have been known to be movers and shakers in the London art world.
In 2010, an insider told the Mirror that “David in particular is a huge patron of provocative British art. As well as purchasing works by the biggest and most famous names in the art world, he is also a keen champion of lesser known, up and coming painters.” The collection, which is reportedly “love-themed,” include works by artists like Sam Taylor Wood, Banksy, and, a big favorite of theirs, Tracey Emin.
See which artists the couple has been following below.
Damien Hirst. Courtesy of Patrick McMullan.
1. Damien Hirst
To celebrate their daughter Harper Beckham’s birthday in 2014, David Beckham forked over a whopping £600,000 ($780,000) on a commissioned painting titled Daddy’s Girl. The Daily Mail spotted the heart-shaped canvas, which is embellished by Hirst’s signature butterflies, at their West London mansion.
2. Yayoi Kusama
In an Instagram video post this summer, Victoria Beckham is seen marveling at Yayoi Kusama’s endless sea of yellow polka-dotted pumpkins at Victoria Miro gallery in London. Beckham even made a special mention of gallery director Glenn Scott Wright and associate Jane Suitor, thanking them for the visit.
3. Andy Warhol
Earlier this year, Victoria Beckhan snapped an Instagram photo of her son Brooklyn leaning against Gagosian Gallery’s wall in London, where an exhibition of works by Richard Avedon and Andy Warhol were on view. Only Larry knows if the pair decided to pick something up.
5. Tracey Emin
Come anniversary or birthday, it seems the Beckhams like to splurge on love notes by none other than Tracey Emin. According to the Mirror, the couple has been exchanging Emin’s artwork for years. Maybe the artist’s heartfelt open letter back in 2004 had something to do with their devoted patronage.
6. Eddie Peake
Last year, Victoria Beckham commissioned then up-and-coming, now Jeffrey Deitch-represented young British artist Eddie Peake to create an installation for her Dover Street store. Though the artist is primarily known for his ephemeral ventures in performance art, we wouldn’t be surprised if Victoria Beckham picked up something more tactile.
7. Jeff Koons
When Jeff Koons leveled his retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 2014, Victoria was quick to Instagram her visit to New York. Earlier this year, David Beckham commissioned Koons to create a new work featuring David Beckham for his foundation, the David Beckham Unicef Fund. As GQ Magazine aptly put it, the occasion “mark[ed] the next phase in Beckham’s evolution: becoming immortalized in art.”