The varied and wonderful pieces collected by the late Kirk and Anne Douglas brought out thousands of bidders to achieve ‘white glove’ results in the online auction to benefit The Douglas Foundation. The sale was held on May 18th by Andrew Jones Auctions and achieved a total of $343,000. Over 200 lots of modern art, antiques, tribal works, fine and costume jewelry, personalized accessories, memorabilia, books and ephemera were offered.
“This was our sixth ‘white glove’ sale since October,” said Andrew Jones, president and CEO of Andrew Jones Auctions. “The bidding was buoyant throughout, with multiple bidders for every lot. People appreciated the Douglas’s exquisite taste. The sale attracted a host of new clients who undoubtedly sought a memento from this legendary Hollywood couple. In the end, a great deal of money was raised for The Douglas Foundation and all of the very worthy causes it supports.”
All prices quoted in this report include the buyer’s premium. Internet bidding was facilitated by AndrewJonesAuctions.com and the popular platforms LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com.
Top lots included Antoni Clavé’s oil on canvas L’enfant à l’oiseaux and Gorge d’Incre, 1993, a lithograph and screenprint in colors by pop art influencer David Hockney. Both works achieved $37,500. Also sold was Absolut Vodka, 1985, an offset lithograph in colors by Andy Warhol, as well as a monumental 1963 abstract sculpture in aluminum by William (Bill) Tarr, which graced the foot of the couple’s own Walk of Fame in the backyard of their Beverly Hills home ($8,750).
Most of the Douglas’s marvelous selection of fine Chinese works and Asian works of art outperformed their pre-sale estimates, including a Chinese Export porcelain jardiniere on stand which made $11,250, a twelve-piece group of Chinese Export porcelain tobacco leaf pattern serving ware that realized $8,125, and a Mughal style gem set gold box that achieved $6,250.
Other stars of the day included a striking Oushak carpet from West Anatolia from the early 20th century that changed hands for $10,625, an Italian Baroque painted relief plaque of a palm tree that went to a determined bidder for $8,750, an 18K gold and mixed gemstone pendant necklace that gaveled for $5,750 and a group of six Stanley Kubrick signed books that finished at $4,000.
Longtime philanthropists Kirk and Anne started The Douglas Foundation in 1964, which has since supported many institutions focused on the arts, healthcare, education and women and children’s wellbeing. The Douglas Foundation has donated over $120 million to the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF), and The Entertainment Industry Foundation’s Women’s Cancer Research Fund, as well as other worthy organizations.
Kirk met Anne Buydens, a film publicist, on the set of Act of Love in 1953 and they married a year later. Before joining the film industry, Anne worked in a Paris gallery where she developed a keen eye for modern art. Kirk and Anne Douglas spent six decades building a collection of fine art, antiques and memorabilia that capture the time they shared, their friends, work and history.
Next up for Andrew Jones Auctions is Part V of The John Nelson Collection on Sunday, June 5th, followed by property from the collection of Dino and Martha De Laurentis and the private collection of Mitzi Gaynor, both to be held on June 29th.
To learn more about Andrew Jones Auctions and the firm’s calendar of upcoming auction events, please visit www.andrewjonesauctions.com. Updates are posted frequently. They can be reached by telephone at (213) 748-8008, or via email at info@andrewjonesauctions.com.
