Banbridge sculptor FE McWilliam among David Bowie's art heroes

Among Bowie’s impressive collection is ‘Study Princess Macha 1’, by celebrated sculptor F E McWilliam, a “macquette” – or preliminary model – of the Princess Macha bronze sculpture located at the entrance to Londonderry’s Altnagelvin Hospital.

The sculpture, which was acquired by Bowie in 1994, is expected to sell for between £12,000 and £18,000 when it goes under the hammer at Sotheby’s in London next month.

Two other bronze sculptures by McWilliam, one of Northern Ireland’s most renowned artists, could sell for between £6,000 and £8,000.

Bowie, who died in January aged 69, was a secretive yet prolific collector of artwork.

Pieces by artists including Damien Hirst, Henry Moore and Marcel Duchamp are also set to go under the hammer.

Sotheby’s expect the singer’s entire art collection to sell for more than £10m at the auction on November 10 and 11.

Although Bowie told the BBC in 1999 that “the only thing I buy obsessively and addictively is art”, little had been known about his life as an art collector until after his death.

He did not buy on the basis of reputation or for investment but because of his own personal response to each artist and their work.

“David Bowie’s collection offers a unique insight into the personal world of one of the 20th Century’s greatest creative spirits,” said Oliver Barker, chairman of Sotheby’s Europe.

Born in 1909, Frederick Edward McWilliam is widely regarded as one of Ireland’s most famous sculptors.