The Styrous® Viewfinder: Russell Crowe's Dinosaur Divorce

Russell Crowe has admitted that he wrote songs about his inevitable divorce with his ex-wife Danielle Spencer, long before they decided to call it quits. The musician and actor, 59, married the fellow actor and songwriter in 2003 and while they split in 2012 their divorce was finalized in 2018.

However, Russell said he knew it was doomed in 2011, and some tracks on his album The Crowe/ Doyle Songbook were directed at Danielle, and these were titled Sadness Of A Woman and Too Far Gone.

Russell Crowe

date & photographer unknown

You're probably wondering, what on earth do Dinosaurs have to do with this? The hottest trend in the art market right now isn’t art and it’s not new. Instead, it’s millions of years old, and it’s seeing a surge in popularity thanks in part to Leonardo DiCaprio and other celebrity collectors. According to a new report by Artnet, dinosaur fossils are the latest must-have for the über-rich. Over the past year, auction houses and galleries alike have begun trading in dinosaur fossils, from Aguttes to Christie’s and Sotheby’s.

Since DiCaprio and Nicolas Cage entered into a bidding war over a $276,000 dinosaur skull (which Cage secured but later had to return to Mongolia, from which it had been smuggled), the desire for dinosaur bones has just grown. Last year, not only did a dinosaur fossil end up selling for €2 million at an auction held inside the Eiffel Tower by Aguttes, dino bones were also the focal point of an exhibit at Art Miami called “DeXtinction,” which DiCaprio apparently stopped by to check out a $2.5 million Allosaurus. Presumably, he wanted to add to his collection, which includes a Mosasaur skull he bought in the Russell Crowe “art of divorce” auction for $79,300.

On a recent June 2019 episode of the Howard Stern Show, Russell Crowe explained how he came into possession of this dinosaur skull.

In December 2008 in LA, Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio were enjoying a few glasses of vodka together at DiCaprio's home when Crowe spotted the dinosaur skull and wanted to give it to his two young sons, who were dinosaur fanatics at the time.

He asked DiCaprio about the price and DiCaprio said he could have it for about $30-35,000, what he had originally paid for it. Crowe displayed the prehistoric skull in his Australian home, until it sold at Sotheby's a decade later for $65,000, double what Crowe (and DiCaprio) paid for it.

Platecarpus

“Owning a dinosaur has become a trend. Their skeletons are effectively regarded as design objects,” art dealer Luca Cabler of the gallery Theatrum Mundi told Artnet. (His gallery actually employs a paleontologist.) “But few people know that a dinosaur is a work of art. Few people know the work of paleontologists, artisans, designers, and academics necessary to rebuild and restore it.” So what is the draw of owning something you’d see in a natural history museum? Apparently, dino bones are not only less expensive than the most coveted artists’ work, they’re also more exclusive since there’s a limited supply.

In April of 2018, Crowe earned $3.7 million at his “The Art of Divorce” auction. It included the Mosasaur head, his Gladiator breast plate, which fetched $125,000; his navy Master and Commander costume ($115,000); and a collection of watches and guitars. The auction also featured a Mercedes that served as one of the cars at the couple’s 2003 wedding. Adding to the bizarro nature of it all, the auction took place on the actor’s wedding anniversary and his 54th birthday, and included a “private viewing” and dinner that, at least partially benefit the Australian Children’s Music Foundation, a charity for at-risk youth. It also included his Cinderella Man leather jockstrap for $7,000. purchased by John Oliver who said, “That is a big price to pay just to find out what Russell Crowe’s balls smelled like in 2005.” The film dramatized the true story of heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock, who was dubbed "The Cinderella Man" by the journalist Damon Runyon.

Russell Crowe jockstrap

For three scorching summer seasons in 2021–23 (the only time that the dig site was fully accessible) Gus's bones were painstakingly collected and cleaned by fossil hunter Thomas Heitkamp and his team, who Licking had enlisted to make a prospective survey of his land. The cattle farmer, who sadly passed away just a year into the excavation process, had been aware of fossilized bones and teeth on his 6,500-acre (2,630-ha) ranch for many years and decided to join forces with Heitkamp to explore the full potential of what might lie beneath the surface. As it turned out, Licking suggested that they start on the very site where Gus would eventually be found, which speaks to the intimate knowledge of his land, along with a decent pinch of serendipity! Given the astronomic rise in demand for well-preserved dinosaur remains, particularly superstar species like the T. rex, while Gus's purchaser has so far not disclosed their identity, it's not to say that Gus has now disappeared for good. There's a strong possibility that he could eventually be put on public display at a museum where the masses can marvel at his majesty in all its Jurassic glory. Fingers (and tiny arms) crossed!