NEW YORK — Outfits and instruments by late pop icon Prince, who was known for his distinct and unique style, will go under the hammer in New York next month.
Julien’s Auctions said Wednesday it was putting more than 150 items from the late superstar up for sale on May 18, ranging from early childhood photos to golden record trophies to some of his most eye-grabbing attire.
Highlights include a custom-made yellow “Cloud” guitar, so named for its unique twisting body, which also has Prince’s signature love symbols engraved between the frets.
The auction house estimated the guitar would fetch between $60,000 and $80,000. Last year, it sold another Cloud guitar for a surprisingly hefty $700,000.
The Cloud guitars were made for Prince by Minneapolis luthier Dave Rusan, with one appearing prominently in the 1984 film Purple Rain where Prince’s alter ego “The Kid” receives one as a gift from his girlfriend Apollonia.
Another key item on sale next month is an electric blue turtleneck with matching trousers which Prince — whose best-known hits included “1999” — wore at his turn-of-the-millennium New Year’s Eve party at his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota.
The auction house said that it expected the outfit, which Prince also wore when jamming with Lenny Kravitz at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1999, would go for $50,000 to $70,000.
The suit, like many of the items, were listed as coming from Prince’s ex-wife Mayte Garcia, a dancer and mother of Prince’s only known child — who died shortly after birth in 1996 due to a rare disorder.
Many of the items including stereo equipment came out of Paisley Park, the reclusive star’s studio and headquarters that has since been opened for paid tours.
CHARGES IN PRINCE’S DEATH
Meanwhile, A Minnesota prosecutor will announce on Thursday (Friday in Manila) whether anyone will be criminally charged in the death of the pop star, who died two years ago from an opioid overdose.
Carver County Attorney Mark Metz will hold a news conference at 1630 GMT regarding his decision following a lengthy investigation, the Carver County Attorney’s office said in a statement on Wednesday.
Prince, 57, was found dead at his Paisley Park complex near Minneapolis on April 21, 2016. The official cause of death was a self-administered overdose of the painkiller fentanyl, but no prescriptions were found for the powerful drug that is 50 times stronger than heroin.
Police investigating Prince’s death found numerous opioids in the singer’s home, according to court documents released in April 2017. At that time, they had not identified who supplied the dose of fentanyl that caused his death or where it came from.
Authorities have been investigating the death of the “Purple Rain” singer for two years, terming it an “active homicide investigation,” according to affidavits and search warrants unsealed in 2017.
The probe included searches of Prince’s computer, his friends’ mobile phone records and interviews with associates, the documents said. Some of the painkillers found at the residence had prescriptions in the names of other people.
Investigators were told that the singer, whose legal name was Prince Rogers Nelson, had a history of going through withdrawals believed to be tied to prescription pain medication abuse, the unsealed documents showed.
Prince, known for his androgynous style and sexually charged songs, died a day before he was set to meet a California-based doctor who specializes in addiction treatment for a “life-saving mission.” — AFP/Reuters

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