A collection of artwork by Muhammad Ali including a 'sting like a bee' sketch sold for almost $1 million at auction

• A collection of original artwork by Muhammad Ali sold for $945,524 at auction, according to Bonhams.
• A 1978 felt tip drawing referencing Ali's "sting like a bee" quote sold for $425,312.
• Ali's father, Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr. was a professional painter and likely influenced his son.

A collection of original artwork by American heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali fetched just under $1 million at auction on Tuesday, according to Bonhams auction house.

Ali, who died aged 74 in 2016 as a result of complications of Parkinson's disease, was also a celebrated artist and activist.

A statement published on Bonhams' website on Tuesday said that 26 of the 28 pieces in the collection sold for a total of $945,524, which was "over 3 times the low estimate."

One of the artworks in question was a 1978 felt tip sketch titled "Sting Like a Bee," which sold for $425,312. According to the statement, it was "over 10 times the low estimate and a new world auction record for an Ali original artwork."

The sketch depicts Ali standing victorious over a defeated opponent whose speech bubble reads: "Ref, he did float like a butterfly and sting like a bee!" Meanwhile, the referee can be seen saying: "Yes, if you were smart you run like me."

A post shared by Bonhams Popular Culture (@bonhamspopularculture)

The scene references Ali's famous quote, "Float like a butterfly sting like a bee - his hands can't hit what his eyes can't see," which he delivered as a 22-year-old in 1964, before defeating Sonny Liston in the World Heavyweight Championships in Miami Beach, Florida.

Helen Hall, Director of Bonhams Popular Culture Department, said in the statement: "It was an honor to offer such a rare and unique opportunity to acquire original works by 'The Greatest of All Time,' Muhammad Ali."

"The artworks depicting subjects close to his heart: boxing, civil rights, religion, world peace, and humanitarianism were all treated with equal vigor by bidders," Hall continued.

The statement adds that in 1967, the athlete contributed a series of drawings to Avant Garde magazine, which visually advocated for civil rights. A drawing included in the magazine entitled "The Two Religions," fetched $24,062 in the auction.

Bonhams added that the artworks sold come from the personal collection of Rodney Hilton Brown, the author of Ali's 2021 biography, "Muhammad Ali: The Untold Story: Painter, Poet & Prophet."

According to Bonhams' brochure, Ali's father, Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr. was a painter who "made a living painting signs and billboards as well as ecclesiastical paintings in Baptist churches throughout Kentucky."

It is likely that Ali's love of art was influenced by his father, with whom he shared a name until 1964 when he announced that he was joining the Nation of Islam, a religious and political organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930.

Representatives for Bonhams did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.