Kate Moss portrait and pop art Bentley among items at ‘British Cool’ auction

An original portrait of model Kate Moss and a one-of-a-kind pop art Bentley are going up for auction with other mementos that capture Britain’s cultural diversity.

The collection of artwork, photographs, popular culture memorabilia, fashion pieces and prints will go up for sale on March 3.

The world’s first and only pop art Bentley, a collaboration between the car company and Sir Peter Blake in 2016, is estimated to sell for as much as £400,000.

Meanwhile, a hyper-realist drawing of Moss, created exclusively for the sale by Kelvin Okafor, has an upper estimate of £15,000.

Okafor said: “Creating an original portrait drawing of Kate Moss felt very fitting as she is simply a British cultural icon.

“With over 5,000 photographic images studied and countless video footage watched, I believed I had a sufficient amount of material to capture Kate Moss in a light which depicts her essence and beauty.

“I chose to work predominantly on an image of Kate taken by the esteemed photography duo Luigi and Iango.

“The photograph they captured of Kate was for Vogue Hong Kong 2021.

“Her expression reflected a timeless natural beauty who rose to fame despite all the odds that were against her.”

Other items from Bonhams’ British Cool collection include a London 2012 Olympic torch carried by David Beckham (£20,000-£30,000 estimate) and Banksy’s drawing Girl With Balloon (£80,000-£120,000 estimate).

Chris Levine’s portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, Lightness of Being Crystal Edition, is estimated to sell for up to £12,000 during her Platinum Jubilee year.

The original Diamond Jacks neon Tattooist street sign from 1985 is also up for sale and could fetch £15,000.

Janet Hardie, head of sale at Bonhams, said: “We are delighted to be bringing back British cool this year, and to be offering such an array of wonderful items which truly capture the diverse cultural spirt of the nation.

“It is particularly exciting to be collaborating with the incredibly talented Kelvin Okafor, and to be able to offer his striking pencil drawing of Kate Moss alongside Chris Levine’s captivating portrait of Queen Elizabeth II – undoubtedly two of the most iconic cultural faces of Britain.”