|
Fontaine, who died last year at age 96, won the honor for her
role in Alfred Hitchcock's thriller "Suspicion" playing opposite
Cary Grant. She was the only performer to win an Oscar for a
Hitchcock film.
The statuette is expected to fetch between $200,000 and $300,000
on Dec. 11 in New York, said Christie's, which will sell
Fontaine's property at several auctions between November and
January.
Oscars are rare memorabilia items because, starting in 1950, the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, host of the Academy
Awards, prohibited winners, their heirs or estates from selling
the trophy without first offering it to the Academy for $1.
The Academy did not respond to a request for comment on the sale
of Fontaine's Oscar.
Proceeds from the sale of Fontaine's property, which Christie's
said could top $1 million, are to benefit the Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for Monterey County in Northern
California.
Fontaine, who famously feuded with older sister Olivia de
Havilland, the winner of two Oscars, also starred in Hitchcock's
1940 thriller "Rebecca," which won the best picture Oscar.
Other notable items include Russian artist Marc Chagall's
1935-36 gouache and pastel painting "Vase of Flowers in the
Window," which is expected to sell for $400,000-$600,000 at a
Nov. 6 auction in New York, Christie's said.
Another painting by Chinese artist Lin Fengmian, "Chrysanthemums
in a Vase," is expected to fetch between $200,000 and $250,000
at a Christie's auction next month in Hong Kong.
(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, editing by Patricia Reaney and Gunna
Dickson)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
