Art News

Summary of Christie’s auction of The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor

NEW YORK, N.Y.- The landmark auctions of The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor at Christie‟s New York from December 3-17 realized a combined total of $156,756,576 (£100,324,209/ €120,702,563) with every single item sold. The sale drew unprecedented interest from bidders throughout the world, who gathered in Christie‟s flagship Rockefeller Center saleroom to compete in person, on the phone, on-line and by absentee bid to win one of the Collection‟s 1,778 lots of jewelry, fashion, decorative arts and film memorabilia. The total far exceeded Christie‟s pre-sale expectations for the sale as a whole and for individual items, which were frequently hammered down for five, ten, or even 50 times their estimate in some cases. As one of the most highly-anticipated sales in auction history, the Collection generated intense interest from bidders throughout the world, with 36 different countries represented dur