Thousands of future art collectors are learning the legacy of Francis and Elizabeth Taylor while they learn more about the art of collecting. This weekend’s Los Angeles preview of the Elizabeth Taylor Collection at the Museum of Contemporary Art Annex sold out quickly, following excellent reviews in Moscow and London. The brilliant world tour that Christies has arranged is introducing tens of thousands of newcomers to the world of collecting and participating in auctions of art and collectibles.
Since the Elizabeth Taylor Collection December 2011 auction includes over 2,000 lots, Christies could only transport a small sample to Los Angeles for the preview. That is still more than enough to appreciate the quality and taste Ms. Taylor exhibited in collecting. And a good selection of modestly priced items with minimum bids in the low thousands is helping to convince many to join the community of auction preview enthusiasts.
The focus of the Los Angeles preview has been jewelry and costumes, which will be auctioned separately from Taylor’s fine and decorative art. This highly select display builds on popular recent exhibitions at the San Diego Museum of Art. First, Calder Jewelry in summer 2009 showed how both the art of jewelry crafting and the art of jewelry collecting enhance art and art collecting as well. Then this winter’s program “Thomas Gainsborough and the Modern Woman†juxtaposed art and fashion as engines of creativity. These pioneering exhibitions introduced many visitors to a perspective that Elizabeth Taylor had already learned from her father, prominent art dealer Francis Taylor. That is that well designed fashion and jewelry accent the beauty of great art collections.
A close look at the art on display shows how the results of the auctions will be valuable to the entire art appraisal profession. Three different Warhol tributes to Taylor are on display. One painting, one sketch and one silkscreen signed with a personal inscription by Warhol that makes it unique. A private sale of a similar silkscreen in New York last June was reported close to one-million dollars. Seeing what kind of premium a collector will pay for art that was owned by Elizabeth Taylor herself and personalized by Andy Warhol will provide valuable information for the entire art appraisal profession.
Elizabeth Taylor is also leaving an important legacy that other collectors will value for decades. Her thoughtful decision to plan ahead for the careful disposition of her collectibles while she was still in good health ha set a good example. Her wisdom can help spare many other collectors and their families from the unfortunate experience of seeing valuable works sold for a pittance at court-ordered probate sales.
