By Roisin O’Connor

Copyright independent

It’s one of the most iconic album covers of all time, and now David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane could set a record for the most expensive album artwork ever sold.

Showing the late artist with a lightning bolt across his face, the original image could beat the record set by Led Zeppelin’s debut album artwork, which sold for $325,000 (£240,283) in 2020.

With an estimated sale price of £300,000, it forms part of a collection of 35 items from photographer Brian Duffy’s archive being sold by Bonhams from 22 October to 5 November.

The lot also includes the original Hasselblad 500C camera Duffy used, the only two surviving contact sheets for Aladdin Sane, and the stool that Bowie sat on during the Aladdin Sane shoot in 1973.

Duffy, who died in 2010 from lung disease, was one of the “terrible trio” – along with rivals David Bailey and Terence Donovan – who helped to capture the spirit of London in the Swinging Sixties.

Claire Tole-Moir, Head of Bonhams’ Popular Culture Department, commented: “Duffy’s iconic photography, paired with Bowie’s incomparable artistic vision, captured the spirit of a generation and cemented their place in cultural history.

“As collaborators, they produced a body of work that defined the visual language of the 1970s and beyond, influencing music, fashion, and photography. From the iconic album cover artworks to the actual cameras used, each piece has a story to tell.”

Duffy’s image of Bowie has been seen by thousands of people around the world over the past decade, after the artwork was loaned to the Victoria & Albert Museum for its globe-trotting “David Bowie Is” exhibition.

The show became the institute’s most visited international touring show in its 165-year history, attracting around 312,000 visitors in London before it moved to cities including Berlin, Paris, Toronto, Melbourne, São Paulo, New York and Barcelona.

Duffy’s son, Chris Duffy – founder and managing director of the Duffy Archive, said it was his father’s idea to add the striking red and blue lightning bolt across Bowie’s face, as the artist had originally had it as a tiny emblem on his cheekbone.

“Duffy asked David what the album was to be called, and David replied ‘A Lad Insane,’ he recalled. “Duffy interpreted this as ‘Aladdin Sane’; I guess a genie vision and thoughts of rubbing an Aladdin’s lamp must have appeared to him.”

Calling the image the “Mona Lisa of Pop”, he said in a statement: “At this key moment of recognition for the iconic Duffy/Bowie collaboration, I feel it’s right that a small but significant part of the Duffy Archive collection is available for many to share in this legacy.” I thank Bonhams for hosting the exhibition of his work for sale and for their sensitive approach to his unique contribution to pop culture.”