Self-confessed collector Leonardo DiCaprio is teaming up with Christie's executive Loic Gouzer in an attempt to auction off 33 art works.
Something of an auction fixture himself (DiCaprio reportedly bought the upright piano used in the 1942 film Casablanca in December last year), the handsome film star has asked investors and artists to donate pieces for the sale, the proceeds of which will benefit environmental causes.
The auction is to take place on May 13. Estimated totals currently stand at $15m.
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DiCaprio told the Wall Street Journal that he used to collect baseball cards and fossils |
Today, he collects art and vintage movie posters from Hollywood's golden era. "To me, that's a really undervalued market place," he told the Wall Street Journal.
"Some of these lithograph prints of film posters were essentially put up on the walls as advertisements, but a lot of them are one of a kind pieces."
During the interview, the Academy Award winning actor likened his approach to collecting to the way he selects the films he wants to star in. "I never really second-guess the art I like and don't like. When I read a script and feel compelled to be part of making it into a movie, I never question the genre or subject, I just go for it."
DiCaprio name checks LA artists such as Ed Ruscha, Todd Schorr and Andy Ryden, as well as prominent New York players, Warhol, Basquiat and Julian Clemente.
"At first, you don't really understand who these people are in art history," the actor said. "One of my first purchases was a Jean-Michel Basquiat drawing."
DiCaprio also told the Wall Street Journal that he was really excited about Urs Fischer - a Swiss artist currently living in New York.
With regards to the auction itself, DiCaprio stated that he enjoyed the "frenetic energy" of the saleroom. "It's fascinating to see an artist come out of nowhere and suddenly get so much bidding around them. Basquiat is one of them."
With Jean-Michel Basquiat's Dustheads set to topple the record $26.4m paid for an untitled work by the artist in November 2012, DiCaprio's observations couldn't be timelier.
Perhaps the actor will even put in a bid? "I actually get freaked out putting my hand up for anything," the star concluded, "but it's fun to see the world pick the next 'chosen one'".
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