The King of Queen—and His Court

How far would you go to own a piece of Freddie Mercury? [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( It’s never, ever a good idea to read semi-anonymous internet comments, but as I watched the [Freddie Mercury auction]( live stream on YouTube on Wednesday, I couldn’t help myself. It’s not that the rolling chat alongside the video was filled with particularly bilious, cruel or funny commentary. I found it kind of mesmerizing that the relentless consensus of self-professed Queen fans-slash-experts was that they knew what Freddie would have wanted, and he did not want this. Never mind that the auction was being consigned by Mercury’s closest friend, Mary Austin, who presumably has a clearer sense of his wishes than the anonymous public. Mercury’s cape and crown sold for £635,000 ($791,000) Photographer: Denis O’Regan The idea that fandom should confer ownership is something that I encounter over and over as a culture writer, and not just when it comes to celebrity. Someone might have seen and loved an old production of Carmen, and the fact that an opera company would stage a new version is nothing short of blasphemy. Artworks that people consider part of the queer or feminist canon had better be referred to as such, or it’s “erasure”–even if the artists would prefer a different categorization. Once fans have decided someone is (or is not) something, they won’t accept an alternative. Remember when Bob Dylan [went electric](? Fans lined up for a chance to see Mercury’s belongings at Sotheby’s London before the items hit the auction block. Source: Sotheby’s This possessiveness is at the root, I believe, of why some people lost their minds at the opportunity to buy something that Freddie Mercury once used, looked at or wrote. To buy something from his life reinforced the sense that they really do own a piece of their idol–that their proprietary approach to a person they never met is grounded in fact. The good news is that there are many, many pieces of Mercury to own: Sotheby’s is auctioning off nearly 1,500 lots comprising something like 30,000 objects from Mercury’s London mansion. Even if Queen fans don’t have a few million dollars lying around to purchase his piano, they can still buy, say, his collection of [black cat figurines](; these were estimated to sell for £150 ($187), and—as of Friday evening—have been bid up to £2,400. Connect with James on [Twitter]( or via [e-mail](mailto:askpursuits@bloomberg.net). Now that summer’s over, it’s restaurant season: [The Nine Most Important Styles of Pizza in America Right Now]( Buzzed about Grandma squares, fried montanara, good old Neapolitan? They’re all on the menu. [NYC’s Most Exciting New Fine Dining Restaurant Is in a Subway Station]( At the Korean-influenced Nōksu, which offers a 15-course tasting menu, the entrance is on the way to the F train. [New York’s 14 Most Anticipated Restaurants for Fall]( Fried chicken, fine dining and pizza are on the menu across the city. [Noma 3.0 Is Coming to London in September]( Noma Projects is collaborating with the Mexican restaurant Kol and debuting new products. [Is New York Losing Its Taste for Pricey Sushi?]( There are signs the Big Apple might have finally maxed out on $400 toro. Fall Exhibition Roundup: I haven’t been this excited about a fall museum-show lineup in years. Talk about an embarrassment of riches …  - [Ed Ruscha/Now Then]( at the MoMA in New York: This massive retrospective spans the museum’s sixth floor and is, I can confirm, a series of delights. Sept. 10-Jan. 13  - [Marina Abramovic]( at the Royal Academy of Arts in London: After a raft of Covid-19-related delays, the performance artist/provocateur is finally back where she most loves to be—namely, in the spotlight. Sept. 23-Jan. 1  - [Manet/Degas]( at the Met Fifth Avenue in New York: For the first time ever (!!!!), Manet’s [Olympia](, one of the great masterpieces of the western canon, is coming to New York. Run, don't walk. Sept. 24-Jan. 7  - [Frans Hals]( at the National Gallery in London: One of the greatest Dutch painters of the 17th century gets the blockbuster treatment (move over, Vermeer) in this massive show organized by a consortium of European museums. Sept. 30-Jan. 21  - [Mark Rothko]( at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris: France’s first Rothko retrospective in a quarter century will open with a 115 works, displayed chronologically in the FLV’s ship-like Gehry building in the Bois de Boulogne. Oct, 18-April 2 Any chance you’re in the market for a mansion? [In the LA Mansion Market, Steep Discounts Are the New Normal]( [A Former Finance Exec’s Working Greenwich Farm Hits the Market]( [A Brisbane Equestrian Compound Is on Sale for $13.2 Million]( [A Maui Compound Lists for $13 Million. Tropical Orchard Included]( [A Huge Sonoma Mansion Hits the Market for $15 Million]( So, you had some questions? Here are some answers! Keep them coming for next week via our Bloomberg [Pursuits Instagram]( and  [e-mail](mailto:askpursuits@bloomberg.net?I%20have%20a%20question). Where should I go to start to collect art? The standard advice is that before you buy art, you’re supposed to go to galleries and read up and educate yourself and really dig into an artist’s oeuvre before committing. Maybe consider staying away from “investing” in NFTs, at this point. Photographer: Jordan Vonderhaar/Bloomberg The reality of it, though, is that 99.99% of people buying art are looking for something to hang on their wall. They don’t have the time to read up on artist statements or talk in-depth with art dealers or even—for that matter—schlep to galleries. People want something nice, they have some money to spend and they don’t have a ton of free time to do much beyond that. The first release on Phillips’s Dropshop site was a crown by the artist Cj Hendry. Source: Phillips For those people, contemporary art galleries still suffice, but dozens of online platforms are eager (let’s face it, desperate) for their business. The newest is an artist-to-consumer online platform, Dropshop, hosted by the auction house Phillips. There are other places to buy original artworks, too: [Exhibition A]( is great, so is [Avant Arte](; slightly lower down the list of priorities are such platforms as the Sotheby’s [buy now site]( and David Zwirner gallery’s [Platform](. What’s the deal with the Perelman Performing Arts Center? For people who don’t follow NYC performance-venue news (they exist, surely), the Perelman Performing Arts Center (of which Michael Bloomberg, founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, Bloomberg News’ parent, has been [a significant backer](), is about to open in downtown Manhattan. Can you think of any other performance venues that haven’t quite caught on recently? Photographer: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images Perhaps in response to the fact that New York is [not exactly in need]( of yet another venue, the PAC has bent over backward to come up with[some excellent stuff]( right out of the gate. There’s a serious range of offerings from celebrity vehicles like “An Evening with Ben Platt” (sure!) to classical piano performances, to the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz’s international piano competition. As a proponent of “more is more” when it comes to art and performance, I’m obviously very excited about it. It will be interesting, to say the least, to see how it’s received by the rest of the city. New for subscribers: Free article gifting. Bloomberg.com subscribers can now gift up to five free articles a month to anyone you want. Just look for the "Gift this article" button on stories. (Not a subscriber? Unlock limited access and [sign up here](.) Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Pursuits newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](