Sothebys : Vivien Leigh at Sotheby's - Auction of Collection of Legendary Star of 'Gone with the Wind'

#VivienAtSothebys

Legendary star of Gone with the Wind

PRE VIE W

EXHIBITION OPENS IN LONDON TODAY

A U CTION TO

TAKE PLACE ON

2 6 SEP TEMBER 2 01 7

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© The Cecil Beaton Studio Archive at Sotheby's

gladys c ooper (1888- 1 9 7 1),

vivien' s friend

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Passed down through Vivien's family, the collection comprises paintings, jewellery, couture, books, furniture, porcelain, objets d'art and further items celebrating all aspects of her life, from the pre-war years in London, to Hollywood and beyond, up to her death in 1967. Myriad pieces drawn from the city and country homes Vivien shared with her husband Laurence Oliver will give a new perspective on Vivien, from her appreciation of art and patronage of Modern British artists, to her passion for books and fondness for entertaining and interior design.

Vivien Leigh's family commented: "We hope people take as much pleasure from this collection as our grandparents, parents and families have done."

Harry Dalmeny, Sotheby's UK Chairman, commented: "This is our chance to discover the real, and unexpected, Vivien Leigh. We're all guilty of confusing our favourite actresses with the heroines they portray, of blurring Vivien's identity with that of Scarlett O'Hara or Blanche DuBois. But, behind the guise of the most glamorous and talked-about woman of her age we find a fine art collector, patron, even a book worm, who was the intellectual equal of the literati, artists and aesthetes she counted among her coterie. Her private collection does not disappoint. Vivien approached the decoration of her homes as if she were designing a set, incorporating influences and inspiration from a life spent on screen and on stage. These houses were an extension of the theatrical space, with medieval Notley Abbey looking positively Shakespearean. Fifty years on from her death, this sale opens the door into Vivien's private world, allowing us a privileged and fascinating glimpse into a world that otherwise only her closest friends could ever have known."

A snap of Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier at Notley Abbey from a never-seen-before family album.

In total, approximately 250 lots will be offered for sale at Sotheby's in London on 26 September 2017, with estimates ranging from £100 to £100,000.

Please find select highlights from the sale below. Full information and catalogue will be available in late summer. Download images here.

Please visit our selection of highlights from the collection which opens today at Sotheby's London, and runs until 11 August. A full exhibition of all the lots in the sale will open on 22 September.

Address: 34-35 New Bond Street W1A 2AA.

The V&A will hold a lunchtime lecture tomorrow (12 July) offering an insight into the life and work of Vivien Leigh, in 3D - focussing on the stereoscopic 3D colour slides taken by Vivien between 1954 and 1967.

Full details here.

gone with the wind

given to her by the author Margaret Mitchell

£5,000-7,000

The quest to find an actress to play Scarlett O'Hara is one of the most enduring stories enshrined in the annals of Hollywood. Margaret Mitchell's novel, winner of the 1937 Pulitzer Prize, was a best-seller in every sense, not only selling in staggering numbers, but striking a chord with female readers who fancied themselves as Scarlett. Among these fans was Vivien, one of the book's earliest readers: "From the moment I read [it], I was fascinated by the lovely wayward, tempestuous Scarlett. I felt that I loved and understood her, almost as though I had known her in the flesh. When I heard that the book was to filmed in Hollywood early in 1939, I longed to play the part."

A dedicated reader of the book, Vivien kept a copy close at hand during filming and deeply resented any divergence from Margaret Mitchell's text. On the final day of shooting, Olivia de Havilland ('Melanie Hamilton') walked past Vivien, failing to recognise her. "She looked so diminished by over work… Her whole atmosphere had changed. She gave something to that film that I don't think she ever got back." Vivien went on to win her first Oscar for her performance in 1939. She was just 26 years old at the time.

Her copy of Gone with the Wind is inscribed by Margaret Mitchell with a hand-written poem: "Life's pattern pricked with a scarlet thread / where once we were with a gray / To remind us all how we played our parts / In the shock of an epic day".

engraved with 'Vivien and Larry Love Myron

[Myron Selznick]'. A present from the man credited with securing Vivien with the role of Scarlett O'Hara

£400-600

After a lengthy nationwide search for Scarlett, costing over

$50,000, speculation about who would play the novel's heroine reached fever pitch. Producer David Selznick finally

settled on Vivien, a relatively unknown actress at the time. He had initially had"no enthusiasm for Vivien Leigh… She was very beautiful, but she seemed to be a little static, not quite sufficiently temperamental for such a fiery role", but this silver cigarette box is a momento of the moment he changed his mind, and when the projection of Vivien's career changed forever.

The silver box was gifted to the couple by Myron Selznick, the man who was instrumental in securing Vivien with the coveted role. Olivier's agent in Hollywood and David Selznick's brother, Myron engineered the dramatic meeting between David and Vivien on the set of Gone with the Wind during the dramatic burning of Atlanta scenes, filmed before Scarlet had even been cast. The impression Vivien made - with the flames lighting up her face - was quite devastating; he recalled, "I'll never recover from that first look".

gone with the wind , film script

presented to Vivien Leigh by members of the cast, with photographs, circa 1939

£2,500-3,500

inscribed 'Laurence Olivier Vivien Eternally'

£400-600

"Apart from her looks, which were magical, she possessed beautiful poise… She also had something else: an attraction of the most perturbing nature I had ever encountered"- Laurence Olivier recalling Vivien Leigh in 1982.

Married for 20 years, from 1940-1960, Vivien and Oliver were one of the most glamorous couples in the world. Further to watching Olivier numerous times on stage in 1934, Vivien became determined to meet him, confiding to a friend 'That's the man I'm going to marry' before they had even spoken. Her obsession was fuelled by dreams of theatrical glory and the idea that one day they might emulate Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, the legendary husband-and-wife acting team, and become a celebrated stage couple. Towards the end of 1935 Vivien was at last introduced to her idol at the Savoy Grill. Married to other people at the time, they embarked on an affair the following year, and formally led separate lives until they were able to marry in 1940.

Vivien loved clothes and jewellery, and was not afraid to mix historic jewels with contemporary couture. Her predilection for fashion was established early in her career when she modelled a magenta evening gown with turquoise tulle by Victor Stiebel for British Vogue in 1937. She remained lifelong friends with Stiebel; a pink full length evening dress by the designer from circa 1961 is estimated at £200-300.

Thebowmotifappearsinherwardrobeasadevicefrequently and here is the ultimate accessory in the form of a large mid-19th-century diamond bow brooch or pendant, estimated at £25,000-35,000, amongst other jewels worn by her in the sale.

a streetcar named desire

inscribed with her name est. £400-600

Tennessee Williams, the creator of Blanche DuBois, considered Vivien the perfect choice for the role of his vulnerable Southern belle in A Streetcar Named Desire and the "Blanche I had always dreamed of". The pair hit it off instantly, becoming as 'thick as thieves'; Williams felt that Vivien understood him and wondered whether "she realised that I lived with the same nervous torment".

After Vivien and Marlon Brando's acclaimed performances of the play on stage in London and New York respectively, they were chosen to star in the 1951 film adaptation. Vivien's performance was to earn her a second Oscar as best actress.

She had found the role of Blanche DuBois more demanding than Scarlett O'Hara: "I had nine months in the theatre of Blanche DuBois. Now she's in command of me in Hollywood." The film's director, Elia Kazan recognised in Vivien "the greatest determination to excel of any actress I've ever known. She'd have crawled over broken glass if she thought it would help her performance".