Vivien: The Vivien Leigh Collection – 10 Under £1,000

Vivien: The Vivien Leigh Collection – 10 Under £1,000

• 

  A watercolour by Roger Kemble Furse of Vivien Leigh reading with Tissy, a black-and-white stray adopted by Vivien in the mid-1930s. Estimate £1,000–1,500.

  Vivien’s fondness for cats can be dated to her school days and endured throughout her life, with Siamese cats a particular favourite. Her cats included New Boy, presented by Larry in 1946 and named after the New Theatre in London’s St Martin’s Lane, Armando and Poo Jones, her last companion who would always travel with her.
  
  

  View Lot View Auction

  Share
• 

  Photograph of Laurence Olivier, inscribed by him to Vivien Leigh. Estimate £200–300.

  This studio photograph of Larry dates from the early years in the couple's relationship and is touchingly inscribed: "From L  tO his V for Ever" in black and red ink, the red letters spelling "LOVE."
  
  

  View Lot View Auction

  Share
• 

  Elsmore and Forster Manufactory, England, JUG.
  Estimate £300–500.

  A large 'Circus' Jug , made in Staffordshire, circa 1860. This brightly coloured and oversized jug, decorated with circus figures, was displayed by Vivien in the library at her beloved country home Notley Abbey and it appears in photographs there. She would fill it with brightly coloured flowers from the garden at the Abbey.
  
  

  View Lot View Auction

  Share
• 

  Cecil Beaton, 'Les Duff', Portrait of Duff and Diana Dooper. Estimate £300–400.

  Duff and Diana Cooper were great friends of Vivien and Laurence, sharing trips, presents, and numerous letters over the years, with Diana an especially close confidant. Duff Cooper was a Conservative politician, serving as the British Ambassador to France from 1944-7, and his wife Lady Diana a famously glamorous and eccentric society figure. The friends would often stay with each other at Notley Abbey, or at the Cooper’s residence at Chantilly, France.
  
  

  View Lot View Auction

  Share
• 

  A photograph of David Niven jumping into a swimming pool, inscribed “Fondest Love / Niven”, together with an album containing 15 black and white photographs of Niven with his children. Estimate £300–500.

  The English actor David Niven became, in his words, "a close chum" of Vivien whilst he was filming Wuthering Heights with her husband Laurence Olivier in 1939.
  
  

  View Lot View Auction

  Share
• 

  Vivien Leigh, Italian Landscape.
  Estimate £200–300.

  Vivien's own painting is a testament to Churchill's advice and encouragement and in a letter to him in 1950, she wrote: ‘We think of you with such gratitude every time the brushes and paints are brought into action’ (Vivien Leigh, letter to Sir Winston Churchill, 23rd May 1950, The Churchill Archives Centre, Churchill College, Cambridge, CHUR 2/174).
  
  

  View Lot View Auction

  Share
• 

  John Klimo, Happy Birthday Vivien Leigh.
  Estimate £150–200.

  Vivien was thrilled with this painting , writing to John Klimo in 1953: ‘I am absolutely overjoyed to have the beautiful birthday present you have devised for me. How could you know that this is my favourite Lautrec poster: in fact, I have a copy at home and have always thought what fun it would be if and when Sir Laurence and I go to a Fancy Dress Ball we should appear as these two characters.'
  
  

  View Lot View Auction

  Share
• 

  Tennessee Williams, A Collection of Plays.
  Estimate £200–300.

  This evocative group of four printed plays from Vivien’s library includes three UK first editions, including that of A Streetcar Named Desire. The lead role of Blanche Dubois in 'Streetcar', one of Tennessee Williams most celebrated plays, was performed by Vivien on the London stage and in the Hollywood movie. A critically acclaimed film performance for which she received an Academy Award for best actress in 1951. The fact that these are such early UK editions indicates her interest for the writer's work.
  
  

  View Lot View Auction

  Share
• 

  A blue woven silk evening shawl designed by Pierre Balmain. Estimate £50–100.

  Vivien was a friend of Jenny Yvonne Spanier, known as Ginette and Director of Balmain from 1947 until 1976. The firm designed all of Vivien’s costumes for the 1961 film The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone.
  
  

  View Lot View Auction

  Share
• 

  Bracelet. Estimate £600–800.

  A sapphire and diamond bracelet , 19th century and later. This pretty bracelet features a cluster set with an oval sapphire to a border and shoulders set with circular-cut diamonds. Vivien would often wear multiple bracelets, gem set, pearl and gold all on her left wrist. She loved to mix jewels, and enjoyed wearing antique pieces such as this. In many of her roles on stage and in film she would wear her own jewellery. Laurence often gave her jewels as presents and it is possible this could have been a gift from him to her.
  
  

  View Lot View Auction

  Share
• • 

    Type: slideshow

    Highlights from the Collection of Vivien Leigh
  • 

    Type: story

    Category: Photographs

    Vivien Leigh: Icon of Style
  • 

    Type: story

    Vivien Leigh: An Icon of Hollywood’s Golden Age
  • 

    Type: video

    Category: French & Continental Furniture

    First Look: The Vivien Leigh Collection
  • 

    Type: story

    A Shared Passion for Painting: Vivien Leigh and Winston Churchill