Elton John, who owns one of the world's greatest private collections of photographs, is to sell some of the images on which he has lavished a fortune.

He has decided to prune his collection and sell more than 100 photographs, which are expected to fetch up to £600,000 at Christie's in New York on Oct 14, 2004.

They represent only a fraction of his 4,000-photograph collection. "He collects with unbridled enthusiasm," said Philippe Garner, international head of Christie's photographs department. "Because of this he really has got more material than he needs in certain areas."

The sale will include work by some of the finest photographers of the 20th century including Edward Steichen, Bill Brandt, Ansel Adams, Robert Mapplethorpe, Norman Parkinson and Irving Penn.

Mapplethorpe's Calla Lily is expected to fetch £16,000 to £26,000, Penn's Mermaid Dress 'Rochas' Lisa Fonssagrives is estimated at £13,200 to £18,500 and Adams's Tetons and the Snake River should sell for £18,500 to £23,800.

Parkinson's portrait of Elton, Bouquet for a Fan, is estimated at £1,000 to £1,600.

Elton became interested in photography after receiving treatment for alcoholism. He said: "It was like my eyes were suddenly open and I started noticing things that I had not noticed in years. I wanted to surround myself with beautiful things that I can afford and that I love."

In the years that followed Sir Elton, always one of the world's big spenders, paid a series of record prices at auction for photographs by big names, including £357,353 at Christie's for a unique pairing of a positive and negative print of Man Ray's 1926 photograph Noire et Blanche.

Highlights from the sale can be found at Christie's website.

Photographs from the Collection of Sir Elton John
Sale 1541
14 October 2004, 6:00 pm
20 Rockefeller Plaza, New York

Viewing
09 October 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
10 October 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
11 October 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
12 October 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
13 October 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
14 October 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

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