Elizabeth Taylor’s Legacy
Elizabeth Taylor was arguably the last of the great movie stars – sparkling, white-hot, and the very definition of glamour. Famous for a host of groundbreaking movie roles, from Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf to Butterfield 8, she was just as notorious for her seven marriages and myriad friendships as well as her seemingly endless appetite for fine, expensive things.
Now, after her death earlier this year, Miss Taylor is again reaping attention and having another curtain call with the sale of her eye-popping collection of world-class jewelry, clothing and art, at Christie’s New York auction house on December 13.
The tone Christie’s chose to take is one of hushed admiration. The show is curated in serious museum style on two floors, the first for jewelry and art, and the second for clothing. The walls are punctuated by black and white photos of Taylor: Taylor looking regal in a headdress from Cleopatra; Taylor with Welsh actor Richard Burton just about to kiss her; Taylor relaxing with Montgomery Clift on the set of A Place in the Sun. The many baubles and trinkets are displayed in low spotlight against gray walls, and placed so onlookers can get a clear 3-dimensional view of what amounts to enough gemstones to build a small house, and enough clothing to outfit a small country. The ordering of material at Christie’s almost has the opulent feeling of a pharaoh’s tomb.
Indeed, Taylor’s collection of handbags is behind glass in a walk-in closet-like room, meticulously arranged on shelves by color, so that one can peer into a late-20th century history of Hermes, Versace and Chanel, as well as into this amazing life. A lusciously-beaded dress from Cleopatra with its wing-like sleeves is placed at the stairway to the second floor, reminding us that we are dealing with someone who definitely flew higher than your average human.
Everyone will, of course, be talking about the jewelry. The star of the show is a 33.19 carat diamond ring (The Elizabeth Taylor Diamond) which must have weighed down the diminutive Miss T. whenever she wore it. And the diamond and gold Mike Todd (husband number three) tiara, fit for a Romanov princess, at which one onlooker exclaimed, “My 10-year-old niece would LOVE that!” Undeniably, there is an element of costume and ornament present throughout the show; the feeling that Liz was always in character, adorned by these amazing gems and gowns. Christopher Ong, an independent documentarian, squealed over a sapphire and diamond necklace, “I love this! This is my passion!”
It was obviously Taylor’s passion as well; turns out it was no accident that she called her signature perfume White Diamonds. But what strikes one more is that almost every ring or necklace has some association with a husband or a friend, and that all these vibrant figures with whom Taylor associated – including Michael Jackson and Andy Warhol – are no longer with us. Their relationships with Taylor, however, live on through her jewels (she kept each piece in a box with the name of whoever gave it to her – the boxes are here too); and the clothing and art all show a human side. Warhol’s “Liz” paintings fetch in the 10s of millions, but a small drawing of lips that he did for her, with “To Elizabeth: A Big Kiss, Andy Warhol” scrawled on it is by far more revealing of their relationship.
One of the most compelling pieces of jewelry in the show, even after you are already suffering bling blindness from the sheer magnitude of diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds, is a suite that Michael Jackson gave Liz: a golden necklace of climbing monkeys with matching earrings that have both monkeys and bananas swinging from large hoops.
Finally, there are the rows and rows of caftans and oversized patterned blouses telling of days when Liz was no longer at her loveliest — yet in the midst of the newer pieces, there hangs the unforgettable, yellow chiffon mini dress. From her first wedding to Burton, it sings of the swinging 1960s and wild midnight cruises to Catalina Island or Capri. The stacking “ping pong” diamond rings, which Burton gave her when she won a ping pong match, show a sense of humor. Nevertheless, despite its reminiscent nature, it doesn’t compare to the fabulous evening gown she wore to the opening of a less-than-fabulous film A Flea in Her Ear — attesting to the fact that, no matter what, the lady always came dressed for the party. And what a party it was.
The auction will be held in five parts the week of December 13; a good portion of the proceeds will go to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. For more information visit http://www.christies.com/
