At Christie's, 'The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor'

The Elizabeth Taylor collection of jewelry, fine arts, textiles, fashions, etc. is on display and will be auctioned at Christie's. Photos courtesy of Christie's.

THE great late Elizabeth Taylor is as famous for myriad marriages as she is for iconic film roles as she is for her eye-popping jewelry collection.

The latter has arrived in New York after a several months-long mini world tour in time for the exhibition, “The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor,” that opened Saturday at Christie’s and shutters on 12 Dec. The jewels, along with decorative arts, film memorabilia, costumes and couture pieces, are to be sold over four days in five online and offline auctions at Christie’s commencing on 13 Dec.

The auctions are broken down in categories under the “Collection” rubric:
The Legendary Jewels, Evening Sale (I), 13 Dec.
Jewelry (II), 14 Dec.
The Icon and her Haute Couture, Evening Sale (III), 14 Dec.
Fashion and Accessories (IV), 15 Dec.
Fine and Decorative Art & Film Memorabilia, including costumes (V), 16 Dec.


A tiara befitting a queen of cinema.

This will be no ordinary exhibit or auctions, of the jewelry in particular, for two reasons. First, ET is an iconic figure. Second, because she is well-known for having a keen eye for good jewelry (and art) her collection is thought to be by those in the know one of the best private collections ever to be auctioned.

“From her most jaw-dropping diamonds, gems, and one-of-a-kind historic jewels, to cherished ‘It's Tuesday, I love you gifts’, and never-before-seen keepsakes, Elizabeth Taylor's magnificent collection of jewels promises to captivate the auction world this fall, Marc Porter, Chairman and President of Christie's Americas said in a press release before the jewels made their first stop in Moscow.

The emerald set is among the pieces and ensembles of jewelry that Elizabeth Taylor received from Richard Burton.

Continues MP, “This is without a doubt the greatest private collection of jewelry ever assembled in one place, and Christie's is honored to have been entrusted with the global tour of the collection this fall, and the sale of the collection in its entirety this December.”

Indeed, it is an eye-popping, jaw dropping collection. If not the centerpiece, quite near it is the famed Bvlgari Emerald Suite (Est.: nearly $4 million) from two-time spouse Richard Burton. It comprises a necklace, pendant, ring, bracelet and earrings. From another husband is the Mike Todd Diamond Tiara (Est.: $60K-$80K) reportedly for the director’s “queen.” ET wore the tiara to the 1957 Academy Awards in Los Angeles where MT’s “Around the World in 80 Days" won the Best Picture statuette.

The Valentino gown in signature red is one of many couture pieces that the designer created specifically for the actor.

Another gift from RB, who probably presented ET with more jewelry than any other man in her life, is the 8.24 carat Richard Burton Ruby and Diamond Ring (Est.: upward of $1.5 million). It was designed by Van Cleef & Arpels, which earlier this year staged an exhibition that included ET jewelry. (http://www.ow.ly/7XhZy)

According to Christie’s, the 269 pieces of jewelry are expected to fetch “well in excess of” $30 million. On the auction block will be more than 2,000 items, including the nonjewelry items for which Christie’s has not disclosed a fetching price. For the first time in the history of the auction house, Christie’s will accept online bids.

Roughly half of the items in “The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor” will be available for online bidding. A portion of profits from admissions, events and select publications related to the sales will be donated to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF, http://www.elizabethtayloraidsfoundation.org/).

An autographed photo from Elizabeth Taylor's most famous friend.

In The Icon and her Haute Couture is another treasure-trove utterly worthy of an exhibition. The actor was a close friend and big customer of Valentino. Among her purchases is a red gown; not doubt it matched RB’s ruby and diamond ring or his Ruby and Diamond Necklace (Est. up to $3 million) from Cartier.

David Hockneys and Andy Warhols figure among the items in the Fine and Decorative Art & Film Memorabilia category, as well as a Michael Jackson (Est.: $2K-$3K). The photo by Jim Yuckich is from the cover of the single, “Liberian Girl.” It is signed “To My True Love Elizabeth, I love you forever, Michael Jackson!.”

A sale of the actor-activist’s Impressionist & Modern Art is planned for February at Christie’s London.

Visit http://www.christies.com/elizabethtaylor to learn more about “The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor,” including admission to the exhibit.

Maggie the Cat: A (Super) STAR Is Dead

Elizabeth Taylor in an MGM publicity photo. Photo courtesy of Fan Pix.

“ELIZABETH Taylor is dead?!,” I exclaimed in disbelief to all who had ears while in a neighborhood Chinese restaurant absently watching the TV screen and awaiting my lunch of sesame chicken. CNN delivered the bad news.

Oblivious, the workers in the restaurant stared at me, bemused/confused, likely thinking Yours Truly was out of her mind.

Why is it that we are always surprised when someone dies? Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (27 Feb. 1932 - 23 March 2011) had been ill for some time and has had more than one close encounter with the grim reaper. Still, the news hit like a punch in the chest.

Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson in a poster from "Giant." Image courtesy of Warner Bros.

Myriad thoughts raced through my basil ganglia. The first was a reminder to tune into TCM to learn which, if any, ET films will be airing tonight or in the very near future. The next thought was her tireless work in the AIDS fight after good friend and costar Rock Hudson became ill and later died from the disease. A co-founder of amFAR, ET was the first Hollywood A-list star to join the fight.

As I stood drumming my fingers on the counter I fondly recalled her stint on “General Hospital.” Who knew that Anthony Geary would disclose during a recent appearance on “Oprah" that he and ET were an item back in those days? Gallantly, he confirmed it only after Oprah inquired and he stressed that he was only doing so because ET was the first to go public with it. She liked the show and she liked him, explained AG, so it was the most natural thing in the world.

It is difficult to think of ET and relationships without thinking of multiple marriages – two to Richard Burton. They, too, were costars – most famously in the spectacular “Cleopatra” (yes, yes, ET played a rather pale version of the African queen) and the formidable “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” for which ET won her second Best Actress Oscar. In the last few months both have aired on TCM. The chemistry between ET and RB is electric in the two films for different reasons.

QUEEN ELIZABETH: The actress as "Cleopatra" in the film of the same name. Photo courtesy of Fan Pix.

Elizabeth, what an apt name for a little girl born (to American parents) in London. She hated being called "Liz."

Last year, TCM also aired "Little Women,” “Suddenly Last Summer” and "National Velvet." ET campaigned like a seasoned pro to win the role of Velvet Brown in the blockbuster which propelled her to stardom at the age of 12.

Reflecting on a film career that spans nearly three-quarters of a century can take a considerable amount of time. No doubt, ET fans around the world will be tramping about the corners of their brains in search of their favorite ET film. Appreciations will abound. Speaking of which, The New York Times film critic A.O. Scott does one of the most affecting video tributes I’ve unearthed so far: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/.

My favorite ET film? I don’t have one, but two that are perennials on my Top 5 list are “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “Giant.” See “Cat” trailer: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000I5R96A/ref=atv_feed_catalog&tag=imdb-amazonvideo-20.

Elizabeth, thanks for your talent, beauty and philanthropy. Rest in peace.