Robert Pattinson to Host Sotheby's Art Auction

Sotheby’s is hosting an auction in New York City, and actor Robert Pattinson is serving as a curator.

Robert Pattinson in front of Willem de Kooning's Untitled, 1964. PHOTO BY CHRIS FLOYD

Swizz Beatz (a record producer who appears on the ARTnews Top 200 Collectors list with his wife, the musician Alicia Keys), television host Oprah Winfrey, and singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding have all organised Sotheby's "Contemporary Curated" auctions in the past.

In September, Sotheby's will auction six artworks selected by actor Robert Pattinson. The works will be on display in New York from September 23 through 29 before the auction on September 30.

He became famous for his performances in films like Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), The Twilight Saga (2008–2012), The Lighthouse (2019), and The Batman (2022), among others. In 2010, he was listed as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine, and in 2019, he was listed on Forbes' "Celebrity 100" list.

In a statement, Pattinson described his curatorial process as seeking pieces with their own language. “It does not simply exist for its own sake and have a presence that hums with a bit of life,” he said. “It has the ability to communicate with you on a kind of primordial level.”

There are three works on offer from the late de Kooning: an untitled 1964 painting, Rotation 9 from 2011, and an untitled 2005 drawing.

According to Pattinson, Thomas Houseago’s 2009 sculpture Portrait created an overwhelming feeling of “someone standing behind you.” Genieve Figgis’s 2015 painting Kissing by the Window, he said, combines “a creamy, seductive quality with a disquieting ‘poison’ effect.”

These works are not being sold at values where pieces are likely to generate new records, unfortunately. For example, the de Kooning is being sold with an estimate of $2.5 million—more than $65 million below his benchmark.

In collecting art, Pattinson advises only acquiring pieces that you’ll love. Keeping something for the rest of your life is probably the best idea, he says.

Swizz Beatz (a Sotheby's Contemporary Curated auctioneer) and other collectors like him have previously organized Sotheby’s Contemporary Curated auctions. Television host Oprah Winfrey and singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding are among them.