Stay Updated on Developing Stories

Johnny Depp auctioning off multimillion-dollar art collection

Story highlights
  • Depp has paintings dating from 1981
  • The actor is currently in the midst of a divorce

(CNN) All eyes are on Johnny Depp's finances in his pending divorce with Amber Heard and those numbers are about to increase.

The actor is selling some pretty expensive art work, according to a press release from Christie's auction house.

Depp will be auctioning a "carefully curated selection of Basquiat paintings and drawings," which Christie's says "attests to Depp's understanding and engagement with one of the most acclaimed icons of 20th-century painting."

Nine paintings will be sold.

"Assembled over the course of more than 25 years, the works date, almost exclusively, from 1981: the year that saw Basquiat's transformation from clandestine street artist to global superstar," the press release says. "Channelling the creative energy that fueled the musical and artistic underbelly of post-punk New York, the works give a glimpse into this meteoric period in Basquiat's career."

Christie's said they have been in conversation with Depp since the beginning of the year about the auction.

Depp and Heard split in May after 15 months. She has requested $50,000 a month in support, which Depp has fought. The couple are divorcing in California which is a state that has a community property divorce law in which the parties divide the assets accumulated only during the period of the marriage.

Amber Heard documents $43K a month in expenses

Outbrain