First posted here on November 12, 2014
Julien’s Auctions have announced details of their next auction, Icons and Idols: Property from the Life and Career of Marilyn Monroe, set for December 6.
Some of the items are from the collection of Lois Banner, author of MM Personal. However many have never been seen before, and are listed simply as being from ‘the lost archive of Marilyn Monroe’.
“Monroe willed ‘The Lost Archives’ to her mentor, the legendary acting coach Lee Strasberg,” the Hollywood Reporter writes. “He gave it to a friend he trusted would take proper care. That friend’s family, which Julien said wants to remain anonymous, obviously met Strasberg’s expectations. Many of the letters look as pristine as the day their authors wrote them.”
In a series of posts I will take a closer look at the auction, beginning with personal items including clothing and homeware.
A fawn colored silk overcoat with black velvet collar detail and apricot satin lining. Seven-button closure and two exterior pockets.
Monroe’s affection for this coat is documented by many photos of her wearing it during the years 1956-1959. Some have deemed it ‘Marilyn’s Favorite Coat.’ As a newlywed, she modeled the coat in an iconic June 30, 1956, road trip and photoshoot with her new husband, playwright Arthur Miller, to his country home in Roxbury, Connecticut. Accompanying the couple in Miller’s black ’56 T-Bird was Marilyn Monroe Productions business associate and favored photographer, Milton Greene. Other extant photos include Monroe and Miller in June 26, 1959 as they departed New York’s Lennox Hill Hospital in New York City after Monroe’s hospitalization for gynecological surgery.
This coat has been on continuous exhibit since 2010 at owner’s ‘Marshhaven’ residence, Heritage Plantation, Pawleys Island, SC. The coat has been climate and UV protected.
SOLD for $175,00
“A Marilyn Monroe black silk velvet dress believed to be the dress worn by Monroe to the 1956 Prince and the Showgirl press conference with Laurence Olivier at the Plaza hotel in New York. The right strap of Monroe dress broke at that event and had to be secured with a safety pin. There are obvious signs of repair on this strap.”
SOLD for $56,250
Two vintage photos of Marilyn in her black dress at the Plaza (sold for $5,760); and contact sheet by Milton Greene (sold for $1,125.)
A silver-tone chrome plated metal compact mirror, believed to have been made in the 1920s.
SOLD for $48,000
“An oil on canvas painting of Marilyn Monroe reclining nude in bed. Signed middle right ‘Earl Moran‘ … In 1946, Moran had the good fortune of meeting an aspiring model named Norma Jeane Dougherty, soon to become famous as Marilyn Monroe. Dozens of photographs were taken of Monroe in various poses, which Moran then used to paint seductive nudes in oil and pastel, portraying Monroe as a blonde, a redhead, and even as a brunette. The painting shown here was purchased by the consignor’s wife directly from Moran after they met him at the Laguna Art Festival. The consignor fondly recalls how Moran explained to them that the model for the painting was a young woman named Norma Jeane Dougherty.”
SOLD for $37,500
A single-strand costume necklace of grey, black and iridescent faceted beads in round, pear and rod shape; and a black velvet opera coat with three-quarter batwing sleeves and a shawl collar.
SOLD for $37,500 each
“A three-panel sterling silver custom-made Cartier frame, with the centre frame housing a silver gelatin print of the portrait Cecil Beaton took of Monroe in 1956. This image is purported to be Monroe’s favorite image of herself. The portrait is mounted to board and signed on matte by Beaton. The center frame is engraved at the top ‘For Marilyn Monroe Miller’ and at the bottom ‘Love Nedda and Joshua Logan.’ Joshua Logan directed Monroe in her 1956 film Bus Stop . The left and right frames house a handwritten letter from Beaton describing Monroe. It reads in part, ‘But the real marvel is the paradox – somehow we know that this extraordinary performance is pure charade, a little girl’s caricature of Mae West. The puzzling truth is that Miss Monroe is a make-believe siren, unsophisticated as a Rhine maiden, innocent as a sleepwalker. She is an urchin pretending to be grown-up, having the time of her life in mother’s moth-eaten finery, tottering about in high-heeled shoes and sipping gingerale as though it were a champagne cocktail. There is an otherworldly, a winsome naiveté about the child’s eyes… .’ The portrait can be seen in images of Monroe’s living room, where it was housed from 1956 until the actress’ death in 1962.”
SOLD for $38,400
Four rhinestone star hair slides with tortoiseshell clasps, worn by Marilyn to a performance of Macbeth at the Metropolitan Opera in February 1959.
SOLD for $22,500 to Melinda Mason, owner of the Marilyn Monroe and the Camera website
Le Taureau (‘The Bull’), oil on canvas, red landscape with bull, signed lower right ‘Poucette,’ purchased by Marilyn during her Mexico trip in February 1962.
SOLD for $17,920
Signed purchase offer for Marilyn’s final home on Fifth Helena Drive in Brentwood, Los Angeles – the only property she ever owned. Dated January 9, 1962, the document contains a purchase price of $52,500.
SOLD for $17,500
“Tableware items including, a Carvel Hall cutlery fish service set of five forks and knives; a helmet-shaped gravy boat; a silver-tone metal goblet; a metal Thermos with hinged lid and mercury glass liner; a pair of table bells, each with clapper removed; a bronze bell (this item has been repaired); and a lace flounce cover topped with a light purple ribbon.”
SOLD for $12,500
The Marilyn Archive 
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