Photo: Courtesy of © The Kobal Collection
We previously did a feature on the Lauren Bacall auction a few months ago, but for bidders and Bacall fans alike, the wait is over sooner than anticipated.
The highly awaited and extensive art collection of the late acclaimed actress, Lauren Bacall, will be open to the public at Bonhams‘ Madison Avenue galleries on March 25-30 for a preview before being auctioned on March 31 and April 1.
Accompanying the sale is a lavishly illustrated auction catalog, which is a collector’s item in its own right. Numbering over 374 pages, the catalog includes numerous quotes by the actress, footnotes, vintage photos, and views of various rooms of the legendary Dakota apartment that overlooked Central Park.
Entry to the preview exhibition is by catalog only. Priced at $50 for domestic buyers and $70 for international buyers (not including shipping), the catalog will admit two people. A hard-bound collector’s catalog will also be available for purchase, pricing at $100 plus shipping.
The Lauren Bacall Collection illuminates the extraordinary and instinctive taste of one of the most accomplished actresses of all time. The collection includes jewelry, provincial furniture, tribal works of art, prints, and paintings, all of which testify to her intuitive collecting sensibility. Many of the items that will be auctioned graced the Los Angeles residence which she shared with her first husband, Humphrey Bogart; her former country home in Amagansett, New York; and her final residence in the Dakota apartment in New York, which she shared with her second husband, Jason Robards until 1969.
Lauren Bacall’s apartment in The Dakota, New York, which displays Bacall’s
collection of African Art, an interest that developed while Humphrey Bogart was filming The African Queen. Photo: Courtesy of © Bonhams
Bonhams will also be hosting a lecture presented by Christina Frank at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) on Sunday, March 29 at 2pm. Bacall donated over 700 pieces of couture to FIT during her lifetime, which will be featured in an exhibition called, “Lauren Bacall: The Look.” The exhibition opened on March 3, and will run until April 4, and will contain selections from Bacall’s personal wardrobe, as well as garments worn on stage and screen.
The lecture will discuss the exhibition’s pieces and Bacall’s own personal style, as well as her relationships with several acclaimed fashion designers.
The auction itself will take place over a course of 2 days on March 31 and April 1. Each day will be broken up into two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Admission to the auction is by catalog purchase and sale registration.
A list of the items being auctioned off can be found here.
– by Jackie Hart
