Michael Caine selling paintings and mementos from personal collection
The veteran actor and his wife Shakira are auctioning off film posters, personal items and artworks.
Sir Michael Caine is selling mementos from his film career and paintings from his personal collection as he downsizes with a new home.
The 88-year-old Oscar-winning actor and his wife Shakira have put film posters, furniture, including his desk, and artworks by Marc Chagall and LS Lowry up for sale at Bonhams auction house.
His Rolex wristwatch is estimated to sell for as much as £12,000, while two pairs of his famous spectacles, being sold together, could fetch up to £1,200.
A director’s chair from the 1971 crime film Get Carter, in which Sir Michael starred as gangster Jack Carter, has an upper estimate of £1,200.
Other items from his seven-decade screen career featured in the sale include a film poster for 1966 romantic comedy Alfie (£500-£800), which earned him an Oscar nomination for best actor, and a two-piece poster for Zulu made for the Italian market (£1,500-£2,000).
From his art collection, Sir Michael is selling Peel Park by LS Lowry, a black chalk and pastel work from 1920, which has an upper estimate of £18,000.
Les Amoureux Dans L’Arbre by Marc Chagall, meanwhile, could sell for as much as £50,000.
Sir Michael said: “It’s going to be quite a wrench to part with so many treasured parts of my life and career, but it’s the right time to be moving on.
“I hope these mementos will give their new owners as much pleasure as they have given us.”
Last year, Sir Michael dismissed reports he had retired from acting, after he said in an interview that comedy-drama Best Sellers would be his “last film”.
Bonhams’ director of house sales and iconic collections, Charlie Thomas, said: “Sir Michael Caine is a cinema legend internationally and a national treasure here in the UK.
“I know the Sir Michael Caine Collection sale will excite great interest among collectors and film fans alike.”
Lincoln Townley’s portrait of Sir Michael is also due to be sold, with an upper estimate of £15,000, with proceeds going to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC).
Sir Peter Wanless, chief executive of the charity, said: “Sir Michael Caine is a former patron and longstanding supporter of the NSPCC.
“We are touched and extremely grateful he has chosen to donate all the proceeds raised from the sale of this fantastic portrait of him to such an important cause.
“We also thank the artist, Lincoln Townley, and Bonhams for waiving their vendor’s commission from this upcoming auction.
“Fingers crossed the painting is sold for a price that is befitting of Sir Michael’s considerable talents and generosity.”
– Sir Michael Caine: The Personal Collection will take place at Bonhams on Wednesday March 2.
