The enduring fascination with Marilyn Monroe: The actress’s lipsticks, bras and frying pans fetch $2 million at auction
Almost 200 items went under the hammer in Los Angeles during the week of her would‑be 100th birthday; the priciest pieces were a sofa and tapestry she posed with, each surpassing $250,000
It’s only an imaginary birthday, one that was never meant to happen, but the celebrations say a lot about Hollywood’s eternal myth‑making. This Monday, June 1, Marilyn Monroe would have turned 100. And although she died more than 60 years ago, the world remains utterly fascinated by that perfectly imperfect blonde screen icon.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has dedicated an exhibition to her at its Los Angeles museum; in nearby Palm Springs, more than a thousand people dressed up as her — gathered beside a giant statue of the actress — while there were cakes and roses at the Chinese Theatre. And the week culminated in a major auction of her personal and professional belongings that brought in nearly $2 million.
Evening gowns, lipsticks and mascara, furniture from her Brentwood home (including its doors, as well as frying pans and even a bathroom tile), handbags, a bra, handwritten letters she sent or received, checks and her checkbook, her 1956 Screen Actors Guild card, the weights she used to exercise, books inscribed by Arthur Miller, scripts, her first contract with 20th Century Fox… These were just part of the 190 lots of her belongings auctioned on Thursday over more than five hours by Julien’s.
At the luxurious Peninsula hotel in Beverly Hills, amid fine champagne flutes and tiny cucumber sandwiches, around 30 onlookers — and buyers — gathered to view some of the pieces and, with luck and money, bid on them. Hundreds more joined by phone or online, vying for the most coveted items.
Of all the items auctioned, two pieces of furniture ultimately climbed to the top as the most expensive lots — and, interestingly, neither ever belonged to the actress.
The first was Lot 35: a yellow sofa on which she posed for a photo session with George Barris. Within seconds it jumped from $30,000 — its estimated price — to $90,000, then $150,000… and finally $200,000. With fees and shipping, which add 28%, it fetched $256,000.
Seconds later came Lot 36, an ostrich‑feather tapestry that hung beside that same sofa. It soared just as quickly and reached, again, $256,000.
Both pieces had belonged to the Leimert family. In June 1962, photographer George Barris wanted to shoot the actress and took her to the home of his friend Tim Leimert, a well‑known real‑estate developer, in the Hollywood Hills. There she posed — wearing Pucci ankle‑pants and a blouse — on that sofa with the ostrich tapestry behind her, unable to imagine that half a century later the set would sell for more than half a million dollars.
Like those two items, many others reached the auction house through different routes. Sometimes they are found by chance, while digging around. Other times, Julien’s keeps track of pieces that surface around major auctions — Monroe has had two famous ones, in October 1999, when her wedding dress was sold, and in June 2005, also by Julien’s. There are also collectors who contact the auction house to part with objects. But the best finds usually come from former friends, acquaintances, or relatives who crossed paths with the star and sell pieces often never seen before.
In Monroe’s case, when she died, she left everything to Lee Strasberg, her acting coach, and to his second wife, Paula, a close friend of hers who died in 1966; the belongings then passed to the third wife, Anna, and many of them have now been offered to the public.
It was at that 2005 sale that Martin Nolan, executive director and co‑founder of Julien’s, began his career at the auction house. As he fields bidding calls alongside half a dozen colleagues, he explains how the public remains fascinated by Marilyn Monroe. “People want to celebrate her, to protect her, and they love having something of their own that represents her life and career,” he says.
For Nolan — who has handled hundreds of the actress’s belongings — the complexity of Monroe’s life is what fuels such enduring fascination. “She achieved a lot and died at 36. She never knew her father, had three failed marriages, started her own production company, made incredible films... She gave a lot and we love her for that, for her vulnerability, for overcoming everything and reaching success,” he reflects. “She was incredible, which is why this is a celebration, because she is still relevant.”
For Nolan, his favorite piece was Lot 19, which was also on display in the auction room itself: a pink‑and‑blue Pucci blouse, medium size, which Monroe wore on several occasions; she loved the Italian label and owned several of its garments. Nolan’s eye didn’t fail him — it became the fifth most valuable item, selling (with fees) for a total of $76,800.
Displayed beside it at the Peninsula was one of the most beautiful and coveted objects: a white, beaded Lanvin dress from the 1950s, which sold for $32,000.
Monroe’s handwritten notes on acting — with exercises and reflections taken from her diary — also sold for a high price; the page is dated September 27, 1951. The lot had been estimated at $2,000 to $3,000, but ended up fetching $140,800.
Some signed, rare photographs surpassed $22,000; slides of her nearly reached $6,000. A replica of her Hollywood Walk of Fame star sold for $7,700. Her set of old solid weights climbed to $19,200. A pair of lipsticks — Max Factor and House of Westmore, in round cases — brought in $16,000 each. Her pointed bra, yellowed with age, exceeded $11,000. Her first contract, from 1946 with 20th Century Fox, came close to $77,000.
The cheapest items were pieces that had never belonged to her but depicted her: movie and exhibition posters, artworks, or ceramics, which sold for just over $300.
Curiously, the item expected to fetch the highest price — a small gold evening bag with inlaid stones, projected to reach between $100,000 and $200,000 — didn’t sell at all. The top bid stalled at $90,000, and the auction house decided to pull it. The same happened with the doors from her only owned home, at 12305 West Fifth Helena Drive, which also failed to move and remain with their owners in Minneapolis.
The expressions on the auction staff — surprised by the lack of strong bids for these pieces — were telling, especially when, for instance, the actress’s Screen Actors Guild card, estimated at $200, ended up at $25,600.
The mysteries of Marilyn Monroe remain unfathomable, even 100 years on.
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