Late Muhammad Ali Artwork Worth $1 million
2 Min Read
On October 5, a collection of original artworks by Muhammad Ali fetches knockout prices at the NY auction. Dozens of paintings were sold for $945,524 – more than three times the original price.
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Legendary Boxer Muhammad Ali
A collection of little-known drawings by the late American boxing legend Muhammad Ali was sold for $945,524 at Bonhams Auction House in New York on Tuesday. The auction also included items that belonged to the boxer, such as his boxing gloves.
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Muhammad Ali, Sting Like a Bee, 1978
The centerpiece of the collection, a 1978 painting titled “Sting Like a Bee,” fetched $425,312 at the auction — ten times its pre-sale estimate.
Ali’s words written on the painting reflect his most famous quote -- "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, the hands can't hit what the eyes can't see," which he said when he was only a 22-year-old boy about to take on world heavyweight champion Sonny Liston.
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Muhammad Ali, ‘I Love You America,’ 1979
The second most popular item, a 1979 painting on canvas titled “I Love You America,” was sold for $150,312.
The works were put up for auction by his friend Rodney Hilton Brown, who said Ali drew his first three pictures for him after a charity boxing match in Boston in 1977.
Muhammad Ali was best known for his boxing, antiwar activism, and conversion to Islam, but he also wrote poetry and made art in his free time.
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The starving children of Mississippi, 1967
Bonhams said he drew and painted all his life and was encouraged by his father, Cassius Clay Sr., a professional artist who painted signs and billboards.
A three-time heavyweight world champion and widely considered the greatest boxer of all time, Ali died in 2016 at the age of 74 after a 32-year battle with Parkinson's.
