A court-ordered sale of artworks attributed to Michael Jackson—originally planned for August 3 at Kings Auctions in Las Vegas and then abruptly halted at the last minute, when a party associated with the owner of the property suddenly declared bankruptcy—is back on. The auction is now scheduled for Saturday, October 5.
If that sounds like a case of art-market whiplash, that’s because it is. The lead-up to this next step has been complicated, to say the least, with multiple entities weighing in. Their arguments range from the rights to the art itself, to disputes over whether it should be sold and for how much, to questions about the authorship of the works. A representative of Kings predicted at the time of the sale’s halt: “There will be another auction date set!”
The reset auction date happened after a judge in California Central Bankruptcy Court dismissed the attempted Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing by the Jackson-Strong Alliance LLC. The alliance, which is overseen by Sir Brett-Livingstone Strong, an artist and former friend of Jackson, who was ordered to sell the artworks—120 pieces described as “museum collection” artworks according to the bankruptcy filing—to satisfy a $3.25 million debt owed to Dallas-based firm Vinson Investments.
Two front-and-back works by Michael Jackson, titled Sunflower (1998) and President Jefferson (1994) are pictured. Photo courtesy of Kings Auctions.
Neither an attorney for Livingstone-Strong, nor attorneys for the bankruptcy action responded to a request for comment on the latest turn of events. Vinson Investments has not responded to requests for comment.
The sale will include a collection of 76 signed artworks, 26 of them double-sided. Each artwork also comes with a certificate of authenticity from autograph specialist Roger Epperson.
A representative for Kings told me: “We are offering a 100 percent lifetime money back guarantee on authenticity, per Roger Epperson.”
Michael Jackson. Vincent’s Flowers (1999-1998). Photo courtesy of Kings Auctions
The structure of the auction is slightly unusual in that bidding on the first lot—which has the potential to supersede the entire sale—starts at $1 million. However, it must reach a “fair value” or undisclosed minimum. Kings described this important level as a “blind reserve,” meaning it starts at $1 million and proceeds upwards until a satisfactory bid is reached.
For the entire collection, the presale estimate is approximately $12 million to $30 million. The Kings auction house representative said the house hopes to sell to an investor or investment group with plans to ultimately exhibit the collection publicly.
If the material does not sell in one single action, then bidding on all remaining lots, described as lot 2 to lot 100, will start at around $10,000 each.
Further, Kings revealed that it will offer an art preview in Beverly Hills. The auction house spokesperson told me that the event will be “celebrity sponsored and buyers of interest must sign up with Kings-Auctions RSVP as it will be star-studded and the first time this collection with be available for in-person viewing.”
However, the estate of the late pop star has expressed doubts about the authenticity of the artworks.
In August, Los Angeles-based attorney Jonathan Steinsapir, who represents the estate and corresponded with Kings, told me that “representatives of the estate—all of whom knew Michael—examined this artwork several years ago while it was being stored in a hangar at the Santa Monica airport, and the inspection only raised further concerns. We have made this clear to the auction house and others many times since. The estate asked for evidence that these works were in fact created by Michael, and no sufficient evidence has ever been produced.”