A real gold course for the Sotheby's auctions dedicated to Lady Blue Eyes: Property, collections by Barbara and Frank Sinatra which reached 9,2 million dollars.
Today's Lady Blue Eyes latest sale alone: online – which offered entertainment and film memorabilia, fine art, jewellery, books, personal accessories, glassware and political memorabilia – more than quadrupled expectations to reach 1,5 million dollars with 99% of the lots sold.
The auctions of Sotheby's NY of the Sinatra Collection they were offering 304 lots in total with a whopping 99% of them sold.
A portion of the proceeds from the auction sales will benefit the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center in Rancho Mirage, California, a non-profit organization founded by the couple in 1986, which seeks to provide counseling for victims of physical, sexual, and emotional.
Mari-Claudia Jiménez, Sotheby's President of Fiduciary Client Group & Valuations in the Americas, commented: “Frank Sinatra is a legendary figure whose appeal continues to inspire excitement among fans for generations, and the solid bids we've seen from nearly 1.000 bidders from over 30 countries speak to his enduring status as an American icon. The success of our online-only sale is a testament to the fact that Sinatra collectors and aficionados have embraced the opportunity to purchase a piece of this charming couple's legacy – at all prices.”
Sinatra's collection of American art proved to be particularly interesting, with three works fetching over $300.000. The group was led by Norman Rockwell's Sinatra: An American Classic (Portrait of Frank Sinatra), which sold for $687.000 after a four-minute battle between six collectors (estimate $80/120.000). Commissioned by Frank in 1973, the portrait hung in Barbara's penthouse in Los Angeles. The collection also boasted numerous ceramics and prints by Pablo Picasso. These pieces were led by the 1968 Visage Au Trait Oblique, which sold for $22.500 – over 5 times its high estimate.
- The auctions' top lots included: Nine Frank Sinatra paintings that received over 250 bids, selling for a grand total of $856.250 – 7 times their combined high estimate of $120.000; an average of 28 bids per lot.
- An untitled Frank Sinatra painting from 1990, which sold for $137.500 - over 7 times its high estimate. Another Untiled painting by the legendary crooner from 1989 exceeded expectations, selling for $93.750 after 44 bids (estimate $2/3.000).
- A set of nine glasses of Baccarat destroyed his estimate, after 29 bids brought the final price down to $20.000 (estimate $250/350).
- 32 placed bids for Frank's pair of AKG microphones, sold for $13.750 (estimate $500/800).
- A bevy of vinyl albums, including Frank Sinatra classics Sing Along with Me, Ring-a-Ding Ding Ding, Ol' Blue Eyes is Back, September of My Years and Strangers in the Night sold for $18.750 - over 37x its high estimate of $500.
- A gold-plated and enamel badge engraved “Frank Sinatra, Chairman of the Board, State of New Jersey, County of Essex,” sold for more than 23x its estimate, fetching $18.750 (estimate $500/800).
