For more than 30 years, the London home of Freddie Mercury has been an untouched shrine to the legendary superstar of the rock band Queen.
This summer, the contents of Mercury’s beloved home, Garden Lodge, will be revealed to the public for the first time in a month-long exhibition at Sotheby’s in London.
The exhibition at Sotheby’s will include all 1,500+ items from Garden Lodge. They will be displayed in a sequence of specially designed immersive galleries, each devoted to a different aspect of Mercury’s rich and varied life. The exhibition will open on August 4,2023, and close on what would have been Freddie’s 77th birthday (September 5, 2023).
Among the items on display is a crown modeled off of St Edward’s crown, which will be worn by King Charles at his upcoming coronation. It comes with an accompanying cloak made of red velvet, fake fur and rhinestones. Mercury wore the outfit for the final rendition of God Save the Queen, which ended the band’s last live performance at Knebworth in 1986.
Also included are the star’s handwritten working lyrics to We are the Champions. This was one of Queen’s greatest anthems and was sung in front of a crowd of 72,000 at the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium in 1985. It is widely regarded as one of the best rock performances of all time.
Six Dedicated Auctions
Following the exhibition, there will be six dedicated auctions. The first will be on September 6, in which a representative cross-section of the most significant items in the collection will be offered. On September 7 and 8, two further live auctions will happen: the first dedicated to Freddie Mercury “On Stage”, the second dedicated to his “At Home” life.
Three online auctions will run alongside, with the first shining a light on his deep love of Japan. The other two, “Crazy Little Things”, Parts One and Two, will present an eclectic array of the curious and everyday objects that made Mercury smile. The auction will be accompanied by the release of a limited-edition collection book focused Mercury’s life and the objects that surrounded him.
Oliver Barker, Chairman of Sotheby’s Europe said, “Freddie Mercury’s sensational life has left us with a rich array of artistic moments that still move and astound us, a legacy that, like his music, will live on forever. As Sotheby’s is transformed into the stage for this remarkable collection, the focus will be as much on Freddie Mercury the showman, celebrating everything we already know about him, as on discovering his less well known private artistic passions. Fittingly lavish in scale, the auction will bring together the expertise of specialists from 30 different collecting categories, and see exhibitions held in four locations across three continents – all culminating in the longest, most spectacular, public exhibition in our company history. How else could we celebrate the legend that is Freddie Mercury?”
Mary Austin will be donating a portion of the proceeds to both the Mercury Phoenix Trust and to the Elton John Aids Foundation.
Please sign up at the official website for the latest information about the exhibition, sales and ordering the Collection Book. The full auction catalog will also be available to browse online ahead of the London exhibition opening in August.
