Hollywood treasures
Treasures belonging to stylish Hollywood movie legend Audrey Hepburn are going under the hammer. MARION McMULLEN has a browse through the auction catalogue
SILK scarves by Givenchy, a working script of 1961 film classic Breakfast At Tiffany’s and a ticket to the world premiere of My Fair Lady signed by Rex Harrison are among almost 500 personal items belonging to Audrey Hepburn going under the hammer.
Christie’s is holding two auctions to sell scripts, letters, photographs, film memorabilia, fashion and accessories owned by the Hollywood star.
Fashion spanning informal day wear through to evening cocktail gowns by top designers such as Valentino, Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent and Burberry are among the items.
And film treasures include a letter from Fred Astaire about their 1957 film Funny Face and a personalised Tiffany & Co bangle given to her by movie director Steven Spielberg for 1989 film Always.
The journey begins with the earliest item from the film star’s collection – a 1940s black lacquered board suitcase made in the Netherlands which she possibly had with her when she first arrived in London. There is also her earliest contract for a 1940s London production of hit musical High Button Shoes.
The auctions highlight the personal world of the film star who also became a fashion icon and the two sales also include portraits from her personal archive of original professional portraits by major photographers.
Adrian Hume-Sayer, of Christie’s, says: “Her name is one that instantly resonates; her appeal and relevance remain as strong today as they ever were. The sales will offer fans and collectors alike the opportunity to acquire unique personal objects which have never before been seen on the market and which will undoubtedly offer new insights into the remarkable life of a remarkable woman.”
Born in Ixelles, Brussels in 1929 as Audrey Kathleen Hepburn, the future film star 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 America to star on Broadway in Gigi.
Her performance in Roman Holiday in 1953 won her an Oscar – and she was the first actress to win an Academy Award, a Tony Award and a Golden Globe in the same year.
The elfin-featured brunette 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 and she devoted much of her time to UNICEF (The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund later in life.
She died in 1993 at the age of 63, but 24 years later still maintains a resonance and popularity as strong today as it was during her lifetime.
Estimates for auction items range from £100 up to £80,000 and people can bid for Audrey’s own cine camera or a monogrammed Cartier evening set of lipstick holder and powder compact which she used in the 1950s and 1960s.
In later years, she chose fashion designer Ralph Lauren’s stylish casual sport designs for the daytime and they became such close friends that she was chosen to present him with the Council of Fashion Designers’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 1992.
Her eldest son Sean Hepburn Ferrer, from her first marriage to American actor Mel Ferrer, said: “She would say to you – and I’m going to say it for her – she was lucky. She was in the right place at the right time.’
Luca Dotti, her son from her second marriage to Italian psychiatrist Andrea Dotti, added: “She never dreamed of being a star. The first movie that launched her career was Roman Holiday. It’s one of those great movies that has many layers – you have a very light fairytale, but the more you dig you realise it is about a woman’s liberation, and the more you realise a lot of my mother’s roles are about that.’
THE collection is on view at Christie’s, King Street, London. Go to christies.com/audreyhepburn for details of the live auction on September 27 and the online sale which runs until October 3.