Lauren Bacall Jewelry Collection & More Set for Auction This Spring

Bonhams is delighted to announce the highly anticipated auction of the Lauren Bacall Collection. Consisting of approximately 750 items, the collection will be exhibited and offered at auction at the New York Madison Avenue galleries; the auction will be conducted in four sessions on March 31 and April 1, 2015 following an international highlight exhibition tour to held in Hong Kong, Paris, London and Los Angeles.

Bacall's collection is a reflection of her extraordinary taste and remarkable life. Included in the auction are contemporary prints, modern and contemporary art, English and French 18th and 19th century furniture, Continental faience, English majolica, silver, tribal works of art, jewelry, couture, and Louis Vuitton and Goyard luggage. She acquired her collection from galleries and auctions in California, New York and London, and also when in Paris and Rome.

Many of the works graced the Los Angeles residence which Bacall shared with her first husband, Humphrey Bogart; her former country home in Amaganset, New York; and her final residence in New York's famed, The Dakota, overlooking Central Park, which she shared with second husband, Jason Robards until 1969.

Lauren Bacall, who passed away in August at the age of 89, was 19 when she made her screen debut in To Have and Have Not opposite Humphrey Bogart. The actress was born Betty Joan Perske in Brooklyn in 1924. She attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (alongside fellow pupil, Kirk Douglas), supporting herself by working as an usherette and model. It was the latter that led to her breakthrough. She was spotted by Diana Vreeland, then fashion editor of Harper's Bazaar, whose cover featuring a besuited Bacall was in turn seen by the director Howard Hawks.

It was Hawks who changed Bacall's first name to Lauren, and cast the inexperienced STARLET in his adaption of Hemingway's tale of deep sea fishermen in the Caribbean. She was so nervous in her first film role that her head shook, so she tilted her chin down to steady herself, with the result that she looked up from under at the camera. Her unusual style of delivery, combined with the script's innuendo, was to prove a winning combination. The public was hooked on Bacall's on-screen and real chemistry with Humphrey Bogart, of which the studio took advantage by casting them together in Key Largo, The Big Sleep and Dark Passage. The couple married in 1945. They had two children and remained married until Bogart's death in 1957. Bacall later had a third child with her second husband, Jason Robards.

Bacall also became an accomplished stage actress, receiving great acclaim for her work in Cactus Flower, Applause, and Woman of the Year. She continued acting in movies as well, and appeared in more than 30, including How to Marry a Millionaire and Murder on the Orient Express. The Mirror Has Two Faces, 1996, directed, produced and also starring Barbra Streisand, earned Bacall a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination. In 2009, Bacall collected an Oscar in recognition of 'her central place in the golden age of motion pictures.'

For more information visit: Bonhams.com

INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF HIGHLIGHTS
Hong Kong

Bonhams,Suite 2001, One Pacific Place
88 Queensway, Admiralty

Wednesday 14th January 2015 10am-6pm
Thursday 15th January 2015 10am-6pm
Friday 16th January 2015 10am-6pm
Saturday 17th January 2015 10am-6pm
Sunday 18th January 2015 10am-6pm
Monday 19th January 2015 10am-6pm

Paris

Bonhams, 4 rue de la Paix - Paris 75002

Thursday 29th January 2015 9am-5pm
Friday 30th January 2015 9am-5pm
Saturday 31st January 2015 9am-5pm
Monday 2nd February 2015 9am-5pm

Le Grand Palais, Paris

Avenue Winston Churchill, Paris 8

Wednesday 4th February 2015 9am-5pm
Thursday 5th February 2015 9am-5pm

London

Bonhams, 101 New Bond Street
London W1S 1SR

Sunday 15th February 2015 11am-3pm
Monday 16th February 2015 9am-4:30pm
Tuesday 17th February 2015 9am-4:30pm
Wednesday 18th February 2015 9am-4:30pm
Thursday 19th February 2015 9am-4:30pm

Los Angeles

Bonhams, 7601 West Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90046

Friday 27th February 2015 12pm-5pm
Saturday 28th February 2015 12pm-5pm
Sunday 1st March 2015 10am-5pm
Monday 2nd March 2015 10am-5pm
Tuesday 3rd March 2015 10am-5pm
Wednesday 4th March 2015 10am-5pm
Thursday 5th March 2015 10am-5pm
Friday 6th March 2015 10am-5pm