johnny depp - Getty - H 2016
Getty ImagesJohnny Depp’s collection of Jean-Michel Basquiat paintings have been sold on the auction block.
The actor’s two Basquiat artworks sold for a combined $11,583,785 at Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction in London on Wednesday. Basquiat’s Pork (1981), a painted door, sold for $6,838,538 to an anonymous phone bidder. The three-panel painting titled Self Portrait (1981) reached $4,745,258 and was snapped up by New York gallery owner Bill Acquavella. The rest of Depp’s Basquiat collection is going up for auction on Thursday.
“The beautiful and disturbing music of his paintings, the cacophony of his silence that attacks our senses, will live far beyond our breath,” Depp said of the late American artist’s work in a release announcing the auction earlier this month.
The auction takes place amid Depp’s public separation from Amber Heard, who filed for divorce on May 23, citing irreconcilable differences. The actress is also asking for spousal support from Depp. Heard was granted a restraining order against the actor following her claim that he assaulted her in the past.
Though there have been reports that the divorce could be costly for Depp, divorce attorney Jonathan Wolfe, who is not representing either party, told The Hollywood Reporter that the domestic violence allegations won’t impact the financial outcome of their divorce case, though the extra chunk of change probably doesn’t hurt.
