ONLINE AT CHRISTIE’S IN MAY
Christie’s online sale Audrey Hepburn: The Personal Collection Part III opened for bidding on 2 May, closing on 9 May, 2018. Comprising 212 lots, the sale is now available to view online www.christies.com/audreyhepburn. Following the success of Part I and II in Autumn 2017, Part III continues Christie’s celebration of this globally renowned and adored film and stage actress, fashion legend and humanitarian, in what would have been her 90th year. Not to be missed, the sale will provide a further opportunity for fans, collectors and admirers to delve in to Audrey Hepburn’s personal world, both on and off screen, through the objects she collected, used and loved; from jewellery, fashion and accessories, to correspondence, film memorabilia and professional photography by leading photographers of the day.
Luca Dotti and Sean Hepburn Ferrer commented: “Having taken 25 years to be ready to share our mother’s personal world, we were truly touched by the global response to Part I and II of her collection. It is with pleasure that we now present Part III; a further group of her belongings that we feel will be of interest to her ever-growing base of admirers.”
Adrian Hume-Sayer: “We are pleased to present Part III of Audrey Hepburn’s Personal Collection as an online only sale from 2 to 9 May, 2018, to coincide with what would have been her birthday on 4 May. Providing Audrey’s global fan base, admirers and collectors with a further opportunity to obtain a memento
from this great screen icon. The final planned instalment from her personal collection, this sale follows on from the success of Christie’s flagship auctions in Autumn 2017, with which we were proud to be entrusted.”
HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
Lot 2
An ivory wool gabardine coat by Rose Bertin, Lausanne, 1968, is offered together with a pair of shoes. Audrey is wearing this coat on the cover of ‘Audrey in Rome’ by Luca Dotti, and Ludovicia Damiani, Harper Collins, 2011 (page 1) Estimate £3,000-5,000
Lot 5
A pair of pale pink leather ballet pumps, circa 1960- 1970, exhibited in Audrey Hepburn: Una Donna, Lo Stile, Florence, Museo Salvatore Ferragamo, 2009, no. 115. By family tradition, these shoes were acquired from Capezio. Estimate £1,500-2,500
Lot 79
Audrey Hepburn during filming of the 1957 Allied Artists production Love In The Afternoon, Paris, circa 1957 gelatin silver print by Sam Shaw (1912- 1999). Signed and inscribed in black ink ‘For Audrey Hepburn, Sam Shaw’, on the reverse. Estimate £800-1,200
Lot 1
Steven Meisel (b. 1954), Audrey Hepburn, Vanity Fair, May 1991, gelatin silver print signed and dedicated ‘Audrey love & peace’ in pencil on the reverse. It was taken as part of Audrey’s last major photo shoot. Estimate £2,000-3,000
Lot 111
Audrey Hepburn during the final scene of the 1961 Paramount production Breakfast at Tiffany’s, New York, 1960, six gelatin silver contact prints on one sheet. Estimate £1,000-1,500
Lot 163
A mini Papillion make-up bag, Louis Vuitton, 1970s. The miniature bag in monogrammed toile, with leather handles, zip fastening. Estimate £1,000-1,500
Lot 18
A late 18th century enamel and diamond pendant, with a central rose- cut diamond monogram spelling AWVP, set to the reverse with a portrait miniature, circa 1760-70. The monogram AWVP and portrait miniature relate to Audrey’s great- great-great-great grandfather Baron Adolph Werner van Pallandt (1745- 1823). Estimate £2,000-3,000
Lot 8
A pair of cultured pearl earrings. The simple and elegant pearl has become synonymous with Audrey Hepburn, evoking her classic and understated style. According to son Luca Dotti, Audrey ‘hated the idea of spending a fortune on diamonds and gold… What she really loved were pearls because of their purity, the fact that they were made by nature.’ Estimate £8,000-12,000
Lot 12
A pendant/travel alarm Ipso Vox watch, by Gubelin, circa 1950. Engraved dedication ‘MY KATHLEEN’. A gift to Audrey Hepburn from husband Mel Ferrer, using her middle name, possibly around the time of their wedding, on 24th September 1954 in Bürgenstock, Switzerland. Estimate £2,000-3,000
Lot 16
A typescript letter, signed, from Gregory Peck to Audrey Hepburn, on ‘375 North Carolwood Drive’ headed stationery, dated 4 June 1992; the one page letter thanks Hepburn for her tribute when Peck was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Lincoln Centre in 1992. Estimate £800-1,200
Lot 85
A cigarette lighter, chased with a lattice pattern by J C Dupont, Paris, together with a gelatin silver print of Audrey Hepburn and Gary Cooper dancing at a benefit for the American Red Cross at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, 1958. Hepburn and Cooper became close while filming Love in The Afternoon, 1957. Sean Hepburn Ferrer recounts that when Cooper died in 1961, his widow Veronica gifted his ‘gold’ lighter to Hepburn as a memento. Estimate £800-1,200
Lot 195
An embroidered black velvet sequined evening jacket by Giorgio Armani, 1980s. The velvet embroidered with glossy black sequined leaves. Estimate £1,000- 1,500
Lot 10
A novelty brooch, by Cartier, circa 1960. Inscribed on the reverse “ISN’T IT A SMALL WORLD?” GEORGE’, it is likely a ‘wrap-gift’ from screenwriter George Axelrod, after Paris When It Sizzles, 1964. Her son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer, has noted that Audrey identified with giraffes because they also had large eyes and long necks; they were her favourite animal, alongside her dogs. Estimate: £6,000-10,000
Lot 117
A ball point pen, by Christian Dior, reeded decoration throughout, in a fitted Christian Dior case, signed Christian Dior. Audrey’s son Sean Hepburn Ferrer remembers his mother carrying it in her hand bag from the 1970’s until her death in 1993. Estimate £800-1,200
Lot 59
Audrey Hepburn’s and Fred Astaire’s bicycles on the set of Funny Face, Los Angeles, 1956, gelatin silver production still inscribed in Astaire’s hand ‘Two “Tired” Dancers!! Get it??’ Estimate £400-600
Born in Ixelles, Brussels in 1929 as Audrey Kathleen Hepburn, she spent her childhood between Belgium, England and the Netherlands. She studied ballet and performed as a chorus girl in the West End before travelling to the USA to star on Broadway in Gigi, quickly rising to stardom with her Academy Award winning performance in Roman Holiday in 1953. Her talent was instantly recognised; she became the first actress to win an Academy Award, a Tony Award and a Golden Globe in the same year. Hepburn went on to win three BAFTAs and in 1994 became one of only twelve people in history to win competitive Emmy, Grammy, Academy and Tony Awards, known by the acronym EGOT. Audrey Hepburn went on to star in some of the most iconic films in the history of the silver screen including Breakfast at Tiffany’s, My Fair Lady and Sabrina. Later in life, she devoted much of her time to UNICEF (The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) and was awarded the US Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in December 1992. Audrey Hepburn died in 1993 at the age of 63.
Audrey Hepburn is rightly regarded not only as one of the greatest screen actresses of all time, but as a style icon. 25 years after her death she maintains a resonance and popularity as strong today as it was during her lifetime. With estimates starting at just £200 and ranging up to £15,000 this auction will provide collectors and devoted fans from around the world with a further opportunity to acquire personal items treasured by one of the most famous and well-loved women of the 20th Century.
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