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Photo: Courtesy of Jackie Hart/Downtown Magazine
It is finally here. The highly anticipated Lauren Bacall Collection will be auctioned off later this week by Bonhams, giving people the opportunity to fill their homes with relics from the late Hollywood star.
Bacall, a film and stage icon known for her sultry and distinctive voice, passed away at the age of 89 in August of last year. Now, her extensive collection of masterpieces and mementos are on display at Bonhams Madison Avenue galleries, with the official preview of the auction taking place today until March 30.
According to Jon King, the exhibition curator and the vice president of business development at Bonhams, Bacall liked to collect things because they meant something to her. Although she was known for being quite elegant, she liked things that had character and that were eclectic and quirky.
Among some of the items up for auction include a game table that graced the late actress’ Los Angeles residence which she shared with her late husband Humphrey Bogart, an art collection featuring the works of Henry Moore and Robert Graham, and two Schlumberger gold bracelets, which Bacall wore on the same wrist.
Humphrey Bogart’s game table is one of the items up for auction. Photo: Courtesy of Jackie Hart/Downtown Magazine
More than 740 lots are up for sale, with about 2,000 individual works of art– both prints and paintings– and all items range in price from $100 to $100,000, according to King.
Most of the items for sale are from Bacall’s 4,000 square foot apartment, The Dakota. Purchased by the actress in 1961, the fourth-floor apartment contains nine rooms, four bedrooms, and 3.5 bathrooms that overlook Central Park. The apartment is currently on the market for $26 million.
Statues by Robert Graham, Bacall called these “Her Girls,” which are being sold at the auction. Photo: Courtesy of Jackie Hart/Downtown Magazine
Downtown Magazine’s own Jackie Hart and Luigi Rosabianca, the founder of Rosabianca and Associates were in attendance at the press preview.
For $50, those interested in attending the auction can purchase a 347-page catalog and admission into the preview for two, a collector’s item in its own right, containing all auction items and vintage photographs of Bacall.
The auction will take place on March 31 and April 1.
–by Jackie Hart