After 30 years, Elton John is bidding adieu to his Atlanta, Georgia, penthouse—and its contents. From February 21, Christie’s will host a series of eight auctions where a whopping 900 objects from the music icon’s former U.S. home will go under the hammer. The entire sale is expected to fetch around $10 million. 

The auctions—coming months after John’s retirement from touring and after his Atlanta condo sold for more than $7 million—are riven with his signature maximalism. Hitting the block are his closet of Versace gear, grand piano, baroque glassware, custom-made luxury watches, and hoard of art and photographs. The objects range from the personal (a Damien Hirst dedicated to John and his husband David Furnish) to the historical (the blue wool Captain Fantastic suit). 

Elton John’s Peachtree Road penthouse in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo: © 2023 Visko Hatfield. Courtesy of Christie’s Images Ltd, 2024.

Viewed at once, the trove doesn’t just reflect the tastes John and Furnish share, but the songwriter’s prodigious collecting appetite. As Furnish told the New York Times: “As time went on, the walls got more full. Elton never put things in drawers; he bought them to live with his art.” 

Ahead of the opening sale, John’s artifacts have gone on view at Christie’s New York headquarters (through February 21). We’ve picked seven highlights that encapsulate the musician’s life, art, and eclectic sensibilities. 

Richard Avedon
Dovima With Elephants (1955)
Estimate: $100,000–$150,000 

Richard Avedon, Dovima With Elephants (1955). Photo: Christie’s Images Ltd.

John’s collection of photography is legendary; as of a recent count, the man has amassed about 7,000 photographs (many of which will make up an upcoming exhibition at the V&A Museum in London). Works by the likes of Cindy Sherman, Steven Meisel, Irving Penn, and Herb Ritts feature across the Christie’s auctions, as does this variation of Avedon’s famed image. John acquired the piece from Atlanta’s Fay Gold Gallery, two years after he settled in the city. 

Bentley Continental Two-Door Convertible (1990)
Estimate: $25,000–35,000 

1990 Bentley Continental Two-Door Convertible. Photo: Christie’s Images Ltd, 2024.

This car was so beloved by John that he loathed to part with it. He had it shipped from California to Atlanta so he could enjoy “southern roof-down driving,” and has taken it for spins in the south of France and Monaco. Its “elegant beauty,” he reported, created quite a stir wherever he took it. But more importantly: “The smell! Decades later, the car STILL has the most gorgeous smell from the butter-soft black leather seats.” 

Banksy
Flower Thrower Triptych (2017)
Estimate: $1 million–$1.5 million 

Banksy, Flower Thrower Triptych (2017). Photo: Christie’s Images Ltd, 2024.

John’s Banksy will likely make bank at the opening sale. And for good reason: while the street artist’s Gross Domestic Product line would create up to 300 screen-printed editions of this triptych, based on his 2015 work Love Is in the Air, John’s spray-painted piece apparently predates that 2019 release. Oh, also, he acquired it directly from the street artist. 

Vintage Versace Shirts (1990s)
Estimate: $2,000–$7,000 

Elton John’s Peachtree Road penthouse in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo: © 2023 Visko Hatfield. Courtesy of Christie’s Images Ltd, 2024.

Clearly, there’s never too much Versace for John, who has maintained a tight bond with the house since his friendship with the late Gianni Versace. So abundant, in fact, is his collection of Versace stuff that Christie’s has dedicated an entire auction to selling suits, jewelry, and glassware dating back to the early 1990s. What’s unmissable is John’s clear penchant for the label’s silk shirts, which are being sold in sets and grouped according to their florid motifs. 

A Collector’s Edition Pinball Machine (2023)
Estimate: $10,000–$15,000 

Elton John Collector’s Edition Signed Pinball Machine. Photo: Christie’s Images Ltd, 2024.

An obvious tribute to the man who declared himself a “Pinball Wizard,” this machine, designed for Jersey Jack Pinball, takes its player through John’s career in stereo sound and through 1,000 LED lights. Gameplay unfolds alongside John’s greatest hits such as “Tiny Dancer” and “Rocket Man,” and footage from his live performances. It’s also sweetly signed, “With Love From the Pinball Wizard, Elton John.” Proceeds from this lot will benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation. 

A Pair of Silver Leather Tall Platform Boots (ca. 1971)
Estimate: $5,000–$10,000 

Silver leather tall platform boots (ca. 1971). Photo: Christie’s Images Ltd.

One of the many platform boots that John has donned throughout his touring career, this stage-weathered pair comes stitched with red letters that read E and J. The design is so recognizably John that a similar pair was featured in the 1970s exhibition “Items: Is Fashion Modern?” at the Museum of Modern Art, and appears on the pinball machine above.

Julian Schnabel
Portrait of Elton (1997)
Estimate: $200,000–$300,000 

Julian Schnabel, Portrait of Elton (1997). Photo: Christie’s Images Ltd.

The sale is dotted with artworks that were personalized for John—from Hirst’s Your Song (2008), a loving tribute to John and Furnish’s bond, to David LaChapelle’s HORNY? neon sign (2003), designed for John’s Las Vegas residency. This Schnabel emerges from John’s close friendship with the artist, who he met in the 1990s. The painter turned out this rather witchy, large-scale portrait of the singer around the same time he created the artwork for the cover of John’s 1997 album, The Big Picture. 

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