A South River, Ontario shopper paid C$5 for a 9.75‑by‑8‑inch canvas at a local donation centre in 2021, a find that would later be authenticated as a 1997 David Bowie work and sold for C$108,120 at a June auction.
The canvas, titled DHead XLVI, features an acrylic and computer collage on canvas, signed and dated 1997 on the reverse. It belongs to Bowie’s Dead Heads series, a collection of portraits of his circle rendered in loose, energetic style.
Cowley Abbott, the auction house that handled the sale, consulted Bowie specialist Andy Peters to verify authenticity. Peters confirmed the piece matched Bowie’s 1990s aesthetic and the signature matched the artist’s style.
Initially estimated at C$9,000 to C$12,000, the auction drew bidders from Canada and overseas. Competition drove the final price to C$108,120, nearly ten times the high end of the original estimate and the highest price ever fetched for a Bowie artwork at the time.
The sale underscores how overlooked objects can command extraordinary value once provenance is established. Collectors now watch with interest as Bowie’s work appears more frequently on the international market, hinting at further record‑breaking opportunities.