<i>Wizard of Oz</i> Production Concept Paintings Bring $45,625 at Heritage Auctions
DALLAS—A pair of rare, pre-production concept paintings from the 1939 MGM classic The Wizard of Oz—used to craft two of the movie’s most beloved scenes—sold for a combined $45,625 in Heritage Auction’s $1.2+ million Entertainment & Music Memorabilia Signature® Auction in Beverly Hills. The 600-lot auction also featured a Lansky Bros. leather coat worn and owned by Elvis Presley, which sold for $35,000—more than eight times its estimate.
“The Wizard of Oz has a large and devoted collecting base, but these two paintings could stand alone as wonderful works of fine art,” said Margaret Barrett, Director of Entertainment & Music Memorabilia at Heritage. “This auction was everything we want for our clients: uncommon memorabilia and passionate bidders.”
Among the unusual items crossing the block was a Harley Davidson motorcycle, previously owned by Mick Mars and Nikki Sixx of the glam metal band Mötley Crüe, which sold for $32,500. The 1976 FLH was customized for Sixx by the lead mechanic of the infamous Hell’s Angels. A Gibson Double Neck Guitar owned and played by Jimmy Page and Mötley Crüe’s Mick Mars and John Coabi surpassed its estimate to end at $27,500.
A large selection of memorabilia from famous musicians included Presley’s 1956 twice-signed contract with The William Morris Agency, a contract that would quickly transition Elvis to The King of Rock and Roll, saw interest from eight bidders before ending at $30,000. An oil painting by Frank Sinatra sold for $27,500, against an $8,000 estimate, and an abstract painting by the crooner sold for $18,750. Both were gifted by the singer to his maid of 30 years, Elvina Joubert.
A large collection of albums signed by The Beatles was led by a rare, early UK pressing of the Mono LP Please Please Me (Parlophone PMC 1202, 1963), sold for $21,250, while a signed LP copy of With the Beatles, obtained by a British newspaper reporter on October 31, 1964, finished at $20,000. Rare period Beatles memorabilia included a complete set of Bobb’n Head Dolls promotional store displays, which sold for $11,250, and a tour book from May-June 1963, featuring signatures by The Beatles as well as Roy Orbison, hammered for $13,125.
Television and movie props offered in the auction ranged from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s signed motorcycle jacket form Terminator 2: Judgement Day, which sold for $16,250, to a prototype prop newspaper from The Godfather, which sold for $16,250.
Additional highlights include, but are not limited to:
- A Judith Leiber purse, autographed by Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence: Realized: $8,750.
- A portrait of Ringo Starr by Peter Max, from the collection of David Fishof, founder of the Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp, and producer and co-creator of the All-Starr Band concept with Ringo: Realized: $6,875.
- A café chair used during the filming of Casablanca: Realized: $4,687.
- A rare, alternate ending script from Gone With The Wind: Realized: $4,687.
Heritage Auctions is the largest auction house founded in the United States and the world’s third largest, with annual sales of more than $900 million, and 850,000+ online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and receive access to a complete record of prices realized, with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit HA.com.
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