Donna Summer’s Personal Belongings Artwork and Memorabilia Head to Christie’s New York in June. Bidding on the rich collection – which includes Polaroids, trophies and even paintings by the musician herself – opens June 15 and closes June 29.
“Donna Summer embodied the disco era, but she also transcended the genre,” lead scholar Peter Klarnet told Artnet News. “This project has been in the works for some time,” he added. “What better season than summer?”
Donna Summer, President of the council (1988). Courtesy of Christie’s.
The auction coincides with the release of I love loving you, Donna Summer on HBO, a documentary directed by Oscar-winning actor Roger Ross Williams and Summer’s daughter, Brooklyn Sudano. June also marks LGBTQ Pride Month, which has taken hold, some saywith disco music during the 1969 Stonewall Uprising. While some of Summer’s LGBTQ fans boycotted her for her remarks at a 1983 concert, the mainstream popularity of classics like “Love to Love You Baby”, Who Beyonce sampled on her 2003 solo debut, “Dangerously In Love,” showcases the vigor of Summer’s legacy.
An inscribed Polaroid of Donna Summer, ca. May 1977. Courtesy of Christie’s.
Born on December 31, 1948, Summer shone on the choir scene in her native Boston as a child. She joined a German production of Hair at 18, then studied, worked and married in Europe. She met legendary Italian producer Giorgio Moroder in Munich. After producing “Love to Love You Baby”, Moroder helped Summer set the stage for EDM with the track “I Feel Love”, for which he aimed to create a futuristic vibe, using a Moog synthesizer.
Handwritten lyrics for “On the Radio”. Courtesy of Christie’s.
Among the biggest surprises of the upcoming sale, Klarnet cited a greeting card Summer wrote to Gene Simmons when they were both signed to Casablanca. The handwritten lyrics of “On the Radio” also provide thrills. “The lyrics on the page are mostly by someone else’s hand with edits here and there by Donna Summer’s hand,” Klarnet said. “The reason? She had a terrible time composing the lyrics until one day, in the studio, the lyrics just came to her and she sang them right there in the studio, with a studio assistant who copied them after placing the piece.
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Gold Record Award to Donna Summer for her 1978 hit ‘Last Dance’. Courtesy of Christie’s.
This relic of music history could fetch between $3,000 and $5,000, matching Summer 1978’s RIAA Gold Record award estimates for “Last Dance.” More expensive lots include a 1985 Silk Evening Dress (estimated at $4,000-$6,000) and a selection of Summer’s vibrant paintings, such as Faces of Rio and the abstract landscape Two women with guitarist– a cherished pastime that proves its power to transcend not just the messy lines of musical genres, but the many mediums of creativity itself.
A portion of the proceeds will go to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, the Save the Music Foundation and the Elton John AIDS Foundation, all charities Summer supported until his death in 2012, according to Christie’s.
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