Osborne auction gives peek into lives
Friday’s auction of the Osborne estate featured couches, coffee tables, crystal and fur coats — nothing antique or autographed, just the furniture and household items of a legendary Arkansas family now in debt.
A few hundred people showed up to a North Little Rock warehouse, bidding $100 to $1,000 or more on hundreds of old items: rugs, dinnerware, trinkets.
Earlier this week, the Osbornes auctioned off some of their Little Rock homes, the first step in the family’s five-day auction to relieve
its debt.
Jennings and Mitzi Osborne made millions of dollars from the Arkansas Research Medical Testing Center, which they founded in 1968.
But after starting a new research center in 2010 and losing millions of dollars they expected to receive from selling their original business, the Osbornes were in debt.
Jennings, popular for years of philanthropy throughout Arkansas, died less than a year ago. Now his wife and their daughter, Allison Brianne “Breezy” Osborne-Wingfield, are auctioning much of what they have.
Many people attended the auction to see the ostentatious way the Osbornes lived and to support a family that has supported Arkansas.
“Everybody wants to see behind those white walls,” said Thomas Blackmon, referring to the Osbornes’ residence. Blackmon owns Blackmon Auctions, which is running the auction.
“He was a good person,” Blackmon said of Jennings Osborne. “I’ve run auctions for people who weren’t liked, and no one showed up. A lot of people are here to support the family. He’s done a lot of good for this state.”
But the auction looks different from the other side.
Mitzi Osborne will now move into a different house, without most of her possessions that she helped work for.
She said she’s trying to adjust to the idea of a new life, a new home and God being in control.
“The closest thing I can liken it to is trying to learn to tread water under water,” Mitzi Osborne said. “Sometimes you can’t breathe, and sometimes you can.”
Two people who had never met Mitzi Osborne before own the home she’s moving into and don’t plan to charge her rent at first. She called them “angels.”
A generous number of buyers will provide even more support to the family.
Blackmon said today would be a more exciting day for the auction, when statues, first-edition autographed books and autographed photos go up for sale.
But Friday marked an important day for bidders, regardless of the items.
Lisa and Greg Richardson attended the auction Friday to get a glimpse into the life of Jennings Osborne.
“And we know how hard it is for them to do this,” Greg Richardson said.
They bid on some collectibles and plan to return today to bid on more. They said the items were valuable to them because they’d always remember where they came from.
“It’s been fascinating so far,” Lisa Richardson said. “It’s fascinating to see what he collected.”