UPDATE
Mar 22, 2024 1:02 PM CDT
The online auction of a trove of letters, photos, and other items that Pattie Boyd—ex of Eric Clapton and George Harrison—concluded Friday and surpassed all expectations, per the AP. Christie's said the auction brought in about $3.6 million, roughly seven times more than expected. The most astonishing individual sale was the original artwork chosen by Clapton for the cover of the Derek and The Dominos 1970 album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, which sold for just under $2.5 million, 33 times the pre-sale high estimate.
Mar 15, 2024 11:58 AM CDT
Pattie Boyd was at the epicenter of the Swinging '60s, but not always the center of attention. The model and photographer, who was often in the shadow of her rock icon husbands George Harrison and Eric Clapton, comes into sharp focus through a trove of letters, photos, and other items she is selling at Christie's, per the AP. The collection, which went on public display at the Christie's London headquarters on Friday, provides a glimpse into the heart of the 1960s and '70s counterculture. The 111 lots up for sale include affectionate letters from both Harrison and Clapton, alongside clothing, jewelry, drawings, and photographs—some of Boyd, and some by her.
If Boyd, 79, feels a pang at parting with them, she isn't saying. "I look back without emotion," she tells the AP. "I can feel slightly sentimental, but not emotional." "I've lived with all of these photographs and objects for so long—40, 50 years," she said. "I want other people to enjoy them." Boyd is famous as a musicians' muse, inspiration for the Beatles' song "Something," composed for her by Harrison, as well as for Clapton's scorching "Layla" and sweet "Wonderful Tonight." The auction includes love letters from Clapton, written while Boyd was married to Harrison, and the original cover artwork for Derek and The Dominos' 1970 album "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs," a painting of a blonde model who reminded Clapton of Boyd.
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The painting is estimated to sell for between $51,000 and $76,000. Harrison's handwritten lyrics for the song "Mystical One" are on offer at an estimated price of $38,000 to $63,000. There are also handwritten letters from Harrison and a handmade Christmas card he gave Boyd in 1968, as well as letters and postcards from Clapton. In one he says he's off to the Caribbean island of Montserrat "to work on Sting's album." Another reveals: "Here I am in South America. Everybody's got dodgy tummies." Also included are large-scale portraits and informal Polaroids of Harrison, Clapton, Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend, and Ronnie Wood. The collection is on display at Christie's until March 21. Online bidding closes March 22. (More auction stories.)
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