The Lynchian Dream Goes Under the Hammer

David Lynch’s films were never meant to be understood in any conventional sense. And that’s precisely why we’re still trying.

They are puzzles we don’t want to solve; dreams we return to on purpose. And now, with more than 450 personal items from Lynch’s private collection set to be auctioned on June 18 by Julien’s Auctions and Turner Classic Movies, fans across the world—and especially here in India—are taking note.

Because for Indian cinephiles, Lynch was far more than just a filmmaker, he brought in a mood, a philosophy that have had everyone intrigued and deeply reverential. So, it wouldn’t be wrong to call him a genre unto himself.

Works like Blue Velvet, Eraserhead, Mulholland Drive, and of course, Twin Peaks, were carved out as dreamscapes that rejected easy categorisation. David Lynch who passed away early this year at the age of 78 brought narratives that weren't for the faint-hearted viewers of cinema.

For commercial cinema fans, his images haunted you starkly and his characters made you shift towards the kind of storytelling that just doesn’t call for regular picturisation.

Lynchian characters were often lost, cryptic, broken and somehow more real than the ones we meet in real life. They were hands down masterclasses on characterisation. It’s no surprise that Lynch has influenced a generation of Indian filmmakers who lean into symbolism.

More so, directors like Anurag Kashyap and Q (Qaushiq Mukherjee) have cited Lynch as an inspiration. His impact ripples through Indian film festivals and college dorm rooms alike, where bootleg copies of Inland Empire still circulate like forbidden texts.

It’s no coincidence that screenings of David Lynch's works in India's indie circuits continue to sell out, or that the word "Lynchian" is casually dropped in conversations about Indian arthouse cinema.

A still from EraserheadIMDB

Now, for fans in India and abroad, the auction opens a portal into Lynch’s real-life set—the intimate, eerie artifacts from a mind that made surrealism mainstream. Julien’s Auctions and Turner Classic Movies have announced a live auction titled The David Lynch Collection that is set to take place, both online and at Julien’s Auction House in Gardena, California.

According to Catherine Williamson of Julien’s Auctions, the 450 items are “historical and cherished pieces” that come directly from the home of the visionary artist whose enigmatic films stirred our most imaginative and collective surreal dreams.”

Objects of Obsession

Among the items going under the hammer are the deeply personal and the uncannily iconic. There’s his well-worn director’s chair, its back emblazoned with “David Lynch” in gold, expected to fetch between $5,000–$7,000. Imagine owning the very seat from which Lynch conjured some of the most disorienting images in cinema history.

Then there’s the La Marzocco GS/3 home espresso machine, an object for Twin Peaks fans, which is practically sacred. It’s a nod to Special Agent Dale Cooper’s reverence for “a damn fine cup of coffee.” Price tag? $2,000–$3,000, but can you really put a price on that much concentrated cool!

A still from the TV series Twin PeaksIMDB

Want to turn your living room into the Black Lodge? You’re in luck. Lynch’s actual red curtain and the black-and-white zig-zag rug—a dead ringer for the surreal underworld in Twin Peaks—are up for grabs too ($1,000–$2,000). It’s as close as most of us will ever get to stepping inside that hypnotic netherworld where time collapses and logic dissolves.

A hand-drawn map of the fictional town of Twin Peaks, signed by Lynch himself, is one of the most coveted items, with an estimated value of $40,000–$60,000. There’s also a 35mm print of Eraserhead, his nightmarish 1977 debut, which could turn your backyard into the most avant-garde screening room in the country.

It’s not just Twin Peaks memorabilia. The auction also includes props from Mulholland Drive, The Elephant Man, and Lost Highway, plus home décor, guitars, vinyl records, art tools, and woodworking instruments—all collected from Lynch’s real home.

Why does Lynch resonate so deeply with Indian audiences?

Partly, it's surrealism. India’s own storytelling traditions—from Sufi poetry to magical realism in regional cinema—have always embraced the mystical and the nonlinear. In a way, the inexplicability of Lynch’s work feels strangely familiar.

Then there's the emotional ambiguity. Lynch never hands us clean resolutions. His characters ache, wander, and fall apart—often without ever knowing why. This mirrors an emerging Indian cinematic landscape that is beginning to turn away from tidy climaxes and toward emotional honesty.

A still from the film Blue VelvetIMDB

Add to that a generation of Indian creatives: artists, musicians, fashion designers—who are more influenced by global aesthetics than ever before. For them, Lynch represents a gold standard in style and mood. It’s telling that the red-draped aesthetic of the Black Lodge has influenced everything from short films to runway shows in India. But you’d think the upcoming auction has been well-received amongst the all Lynchian fans? Guess what?

It’s not. Many are actually appalled by the idea of the director’s item going under the hammer. They’d rather have it in a David Lynch museum than as privately owned items inaccessible to the larger public.

But bottom line is the auction is happening next month, both online and at Julien’s Auction House in Gardena, California.