CELEBRITY NEWS

Sotheby's Hepburn Auction A Triumph

Pat Dwyer, Jewelry.com

A gift from Howard Hughes, Hepburn's brooch, estimated to bring in $15,000- $20,000, went for a whopping $120,000

As reported recently here on Jewelry.com, Sotheby's placed under its famous hammer many lots from the estate of the Great Katherine Hepburn. The sale of property which took place June 10-11, and was originally estimated to bring in $1 Million, fetched nearly 6 times that estimate with every single item selling and a final tally of
$5,856,100. Famous bidders such as Louis Vuitton International, Burberry and celebrities like Wayne Newton and Danielle Steel were among the successful bidders.

"The atmosphere in the room was exciting and fun and was kept that way by the really terrific Auctioneer" said noted celebrity photographer Stephen Mosher (http://www.stephenmosher.com/) one of the attendees of the event. The Auctioneer, Jamie Niven, is the son of the late Oscar winning actor David Niven and related that his father and Miss Hepburn shared the same agent, Leland Hayward, for many years. "Niven kept things moving at a clip and was also very amusing, working the crowd with great ease, humor and charm," Mosher added.

As was reported in our fashion report feature Katharine Hepburn Diamond Brooch at Sotheby's , the sale included many personal items owned and used by Miss Hepburn over the years. Chief among them was the beautiful diamond and sapphire brooch (pictured this page and in the photo of Miss Hepburn and Spencer Tracy from the film Without Love) given to Miss Hepburn by Howard Hughes in the 1930s. It sold to a bidder on the phone for $120,000, far above the $15-20,000 estimate. Cary Grant introduced Miss Hepburn to Howard Hughes in 1936 and a romance sparked between the two. Also included was a group of telegrams sent between the two lovers from 1937-1939. These sold to an anonymous bidder on the phone for $18,000.

"The bidding on the brooch was like a tennis match with two bidders on phones at opposite sides of the room", said auction attendee Brady Schwind. "People's heads were bouncing back and forth as each buyer kept raising their bids on the piece. It was exciting." The only other jewelry item included in the sale was one that ranks as true Hollywood memorabilia. A prop ring (pictured this page) that was created for Miss Hepburn's Oscar winning portrayal of Eleanor of Aquitaine in the film, The Lion In Winter (1968). Estimated to bring in $800-1,200, the ring fetched a hefty $14,400.

"Miss Hepburn's life was her style, and this is reflected in the furniture, decorations and artwork that she surrounded herself with ...," commented Leila Dunbar, Director of Sotheby's Collectibles Department. "We are absolutely thrilled with the results achieved for Miss Hepburn's estate ... It was her wish to give the public a chance to own something of hers, and the immense power of her celebrity and worldwide appeal had a significant impact on the bidding, driving prices to many multiples of their estimates,"

The two-day event, with every one of the 695 lots offered finding a buyer, hosted avid fans and collectors from around the world in Sotheby's New York saleroom on Thursday and Friday. Audience members competed with bidders on the telephone and over the Internet for the opportunity to own a piece of Hollywood history. Aside from the Hughes Brooch, the most sought after piece was the bronze bust of Spencer Tracy that Miss Hepburn created in the 1960's. The audience cheered when the 3-inch sculpture sold for $316,000 (estimated to go for $3-5,000) following a fierce bidding battle.

"What was perhaps most gratifying to us was the response to Miss Hepburn's own artwork. This was Miss Hepburn's private passion, and collectors vied for the lovely seascapes, floral still life paintings, and sculpture," said Dunbar.

All in all the response was a fiiting portrayal of the love and respect America's greatest actress engendered in her admirers.