In a gallery packed with bidders and fans, Lena Horne’s estate sold at Doyle New York for $318,000, more than twice the high estimate. There were 200 lots of art, jewelry, furniture, clothing and memorabilia owned by the late Hollywood star, and buyers at the three-hour auction snapped up every one of them.
The highest valued item, an abstract painting by African American artist Charles Alston, sold for only $20,000, well below the $30,000-$50,000 estimate. Other items, however, found eager bidders, causing prices to soar. A small Louis Vuitton trunk, which had been estimated at $700 brought in $20,000. A reversible mink coat by Horne’s favorite designer Giorgio di Sant’Angelo had been estimated at $500, but sold for $8,125. And a leather vanity case initialed LH fetched $6250, although its estimate had been only $200-$400.
Read more at Mercury News.
