The earliest known nude photographs of Madonna are reportedly set to go under the hammer at auction later this week.
Madonna posed naked for photographer Cecil I. Taylor aged 18, with the pair first meeting when she lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan, TMZ reports.
In several snaps obtained by the outlet Madonna can be seen with short dark hair striking a pose alongside a ballet barre, with absolutely nothing on, while in another picture the star wears a bandana and a top tied up above her stomach, with nothing covering her lower half.
The photographs are reportedly set to be sold off by Gotta Have Rock and Roll auction house, the establishment which shared Tupac’s letter to Madonna from prison in 1995 as well as the note Madonna allegedly wrote to actor John Enos in the early ‘90s complaining about Sharon Stone and Whitney Houston, on Wednesday.
TMZ reports that the original negatives and copyrights will also be available, with the 108 images set to open at between $8,000 (£6,000) and $12,000 ($9,000). A release form signed by Madonna and Taylor dated 19 May 1977 is to go under the hammer too.
The 59-year-old artist herself has previously fought against the sale of anything relating or belonging to her; earlier this year Madonna obtained a temporary restraining order blocking the sale of items including the Tupac letter, claiming they were wrongfully taken from her.
However, her former friend Darlene Lutz, the art consultant who teamed up with Gotta Have It! Collectibles to auction off the items, insists the singer’s lawsuit is an act of revenge.
Madonna sued Lutz and the company over the sales of her former property, with a lawsuit filed in August reading, “This is an action for conversion and related causes of action arising out of Defendants’ wrongful taking of Plaintiff’s property, valuable memorabilia and highly personal items that Plaintiff’s former friend and art consultant, Darlene Lutz, and/or one or more John Doe Defendants consigned for sale at auction to GHI and/or GHRR.com-despite the fact that the memorabilia is not Defendant Lutz’s or any of the John Doe Defendants’ to sell.”
