Popular Culture

Popular Culture, a new auction category at Christie's, will feature iconic 20th and 21st century material from the worlds of film, rock and roll, celebrity, entertainment and sport. Auctions in this category take place twice a year in London-South Kensington and New York.

Entertainment memorabilia is a diverse category that ranges from film props and costumes worn by Hollywood icons, vintage guitars and handwritten lyrics by music legends, to animation art and film posters. Such items have contributed to the delight of generations, and helped build a worldwide collectors' market. In the last two decades, Christie's has sold memorabilia ranging from Bette Davis' Academy Award for Jezebel to John Lennon's hand-written lyrics for I Am The Walrus.

Christie's holds the world auction record of $312,000 for a film script with the sale of Marlon Brando's annotated script for The Godfather (2004). Christie's sale of the Personal Property of Marilyn Monroe in 1999 totaled more than $13 million and set a world auction record of $1,267,500 for Monroe's dress that she wore singing "Happy Birthday" to President John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden, New York, in 1962. In 2004, Christie's also achieved a world auction record of $959,500 for Eric Clapton's composite Fender Stratocaster 'Blackie'.

Please contact any of the specialists below if you are interested in a complimentary market valuation or wish to discuss the inclusion of your property in one of our sales next year.