Photographs taken for Madonna‘s racy Sex book are set to be sold at auction for as much as £240,000.
Taken by Steve Meisel, the black and white images of the singer raised eyebrows when they were released in back in 1992.
Madonna, 64, was aged 34 when she posed naked for the series of erotic photographs which were taken in New York and Miami – from burlesque hotels to the streets of the city.
Now, around 40 of the pictures will be up for sale at October’s auction at Christie’s, New York, signed by both Madonna and Steve.
Prices begin at an eye-watering £40,000.
Up for sale: Photographs taken for Madonna ‘s racy Sex book are set to be sold at auction for as much as £240,000
Racy: Taken by Steve Meisel, the black and white images of the singer raised eyebrows when they were released in back in 1992
Daring: Madonna, 64, was aged 34 when she posed naked for the series of erotic photographs which were taken in New York and Miam
Christie’s deputy chairman Darius Himes told The Sun: ‘It was shocking and titillating and captured so much white-hot energy coming off of Madonna in the early 1990s.’
Back in 1992, Madonna earned the equivalent of $38.6M in today’s dollars for the 132-page aluminum-covered book, which went on to sell 1.5M copies worldwide.
While controversial at the time, Sex is now well-regarded for its social and cultural impact and is considered a bold post-feminist, LGBT-beloved work.
The Material Girl was arguably S&M’s first cultural ambassador thanks to the sadomasochistic images, softcore pornography, and simulations of sexual acts.
The Sex book was released the day after Madonna’s equally-kinky fifth studio album Erotica, and Warner Music issued the ‘banned’ 12in, three-track picture disc version of the single in honor of its 30th anniversary on October 21.
And it’s a busy time for Madonna as her celebration tour begins on July 15 with a sold-out Vancouver show, before snaking its way south through the western US.
She’ll spend October through early December traversing Europe, before heading back to North America.
Earlier this year, it was reported that Madonna’s biopic — titled Little Sparrow — had been scrapped following years of development.
In June of last year it was reported that Ozark star Julia Garner had been cast as the Material Girl, suggesting the production was closer to shooting than ever, but then it was reported in January that it had been put on the back burner.
On the market: Now, around 40 of the pictures will be up for sale at October’s auction at Christie’s, New York, signed by both Madonna and Steve
Smash hit: Back in 1992, Madonna earned the equivalent of $38.6M in today’s dollars for the 132-page aluminum-covered book, which went on to sell 1.5M copies worldwide
Critics: While controversial at the time, Sex is now well-regarded for its social and cultural impact and is considered a bold post-feminist, LGBT-beloved work
Sex: The Material Girl was arguably S&M’s first cultural ambassador thanks to the sadomasochistic images, softcore pornography, and simulations of sexual acts
Titillating: Chrisite’s deputy chairman Darius Himes said: ‘It was shocking and titillating and captured so much white-hot energy coming off of Madonna in the early 1990s.’
Nude: In one photo a bare bottomed Madonna stood on a radiator as she gazed out of the window
Back on? It was reported in January that her biopic Little Sparrow is suspended indefinitely, but she was seen meeting with its start Julia Garner earlier this month
But earlier this month, Madonna shared a photo of herself and Julia, playfully captioning it, ‘B***h we’re Madonna!’
The two had been attending the photographer Steven Klein’s 58th birthday, according to the New York Post.
Part of Little Sparrow’s issues appear to be its lengthy and unwieldy screenplay, which Madonna co-wrote with Juno scribe Diablo Cody, before Secretary screenwriter Erin Wilson took another pass.
‘I have a very long script that is really hard for me to make shorter,’ Madonna said last summer. ‘I’ve been whittling away at it, but it’s like hacking off my limbs.’
In August of last year, an anonymous tipster wrote in to the gossip site DeuxMoi claiming that the biopic was a ‘nightmare production’ due to the ‘script and constant changes.’
They added that it ‘might not happen’ at all because it was ‘costing a ton of money.’
