It was announced yesterday that the Leslie Hindman Auctioneers in Chicago will conduct a single-owner auction of over 500 lots belonging to the media legend Oprah Winfrey.
The lots will include English, French, and Continental furniture and decorative arts as well as paintings, prints, drawings, porcelain, crystal, silver, memorabilia, clothing, and accessories. Most of the lots will be sourced directly from Ms. Winfrey’s Chicago Water Tower apartment and proceeds will benefit the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, South Africa.
Highlights from the auction include paintings from Francis Coates Jones and Maude Earl in the $15,000 to 25,000 range, as well as a circa-1800 Austrian Giltwood Cartel Clock, going for between $2,000 and $4,000. For bargain hunters just looking to own a piece of Oprah, a Jorg and Olif Bicycle can be had for a projected $200 to $400.
Leslie Hindman (the auction house’s founder) had this to say: “On a more personal level, I have long revered Ms. Winfrey as a collector. I once met with Ms. Winfrey in 2003, and we discussed my perspectives and advice regarding collecting. It was immediately evident that she had extensive market knowledge and had made it a priority to form relationships with dealers, collectors and industry contacts to make informed decisions regarding acquisitions.”
I personally have a fond memory of driving past Oprah’s Chicago studios one very late night in 2003 while blasting “Ignition (Remix)” by Chicago artist R Kelly (it had just been released) on Chicago radio station Power 92, but that is another story for another time.