Never-before-seen portraits of Michael Jackson shot by French photographer Arno Bani in 1999 will hit the block this October at the Pierre Berge Associes auction house. In one of the photographs revealed to the press, titled simply “Michael Jackson’s Blue Eye,” Jackson is seen posing solemnly in a studded black blazer with a glittery blue circle enveloping his left eye. The 12 prints, each numbered “one of one,” will be up for auction October through December with an opening bid of 1,000 Euros. Fifty contact boards from the photo session will also be auctioned off.

According to the AFP, Jackson entrusted Bani to photograph him after seeing Bani’s work in the Sunday Times’ Style magazine. Bani’s shots were originally destined to become artwork on Jackson’s final studio album, 2001’s Invincible, but the record company ultimately decided on other imagery. The auction house has indicated the photographs will be published in undisclosed locations worldwide in October, http://www.questionmarkmag.com/2010/06/twelve-unseen-michael-jacksons-portraits-to-be-auctioned/