“The most beautiful woman of her age”

Sotheby’s to Offer the Collection of Vivien Leigh

Legendary Star of ‘Gone with the Wind’

Vivien photographed by Cecil Beaton in 1941 ©Sotheby’s Cecil Beaton Studio Archive

Preview Exhibition Opens In London Today

Auction To Take Place On 26 September 2017

Tuesday 11 July 2017: Hollywood icon and incandescent star of one of the most beloved films of all time, Vivien Leigh (1913-1967) captured hearts and minds with her fiery, luminous performance as Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind in 1939. Her legendary status in the pantheon of all-time greats was assured when she secured what perhaps remains to this day the most coveted role in cinema history. Our perception of such legends is often imperceptibly entwined with the myths they come to embody. This September, fifty years after her death, a spotlight will reveal the inner person few people really knew, in effect Vivien’s private life, when Sotheby's London brings to auction The Vivien Leigh Collection.

Passed down through Vivien’s family, the collection comprises paintings, jewellery, couture, books, furniture, porcelain, objets d'art and further items celebrating all aspects of her life, from the pre-war years in London, to Hollywood and beyond, up to her death in 1967. Myriad pieces drawn from the city and country homes Vivien shared with her husband Laurence Oliver will give a new perspective on Vivien, from her appreciation of art and patronage of Modern British artists, to her passion for books and fondness for entertaining and interior design.

Vivien Leigh’s family commented: “We hope people take as much pleasure from this collection as our grandparents, parents and families have done.”

Harry Dalmeny, Sotheby’s UK Chairman, commented: “This is our chance to discover the real, and unexpected, Vivien Leigh. We’re all guilty of confusing our favourite actresses with the heroines they portray, of blurring Vivien’s identity with that of Scarlett O’Hara or Blanche DuBois. But, behind the guise of the most glamorous and talked-about woman of her age we find a fine art collector, patron, even a book worm, who was the intellectual equal of the literati, artists and aesthetes she counted among her coterie. Her private collection does not disappoint. Vivien approached the decoration of her homes as if she were designing a set, incorporating influences and inspiration from a life spent on screen and on stage. These houses were an extension of the theatrical space, with medieval Notley Abbey looking positively Shakespearean. Fifty years on from her death, this sale opens the door into Vivien’s private world, allowing us a privileged and fascinating glimpse into a world that otherwise only her closest friends could ever have known.”

A snap of Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier at Notley Abbey from a never-seen-before family album

In total, approximately 250 lots will be offered for sale at Sotheby’s in London on 26 September 2017, with estimates ranging from £100 to £100,000.

Please visit our selection of highlights from the collection which opens today at Sotheby’s London, and runs until 11 August. A full exhibition of all the lots in the sale will open on 22 September. Address: 34-35 New Bond Street W1A 2AA.

Vivien Leigh’s personal copy of Gone with the Wind, given to her by the author Margaret Mitchell (est. £5,000-7,000)

Gone with the Wind, film script, presented to Vivien Leigh by members of the cast, with photographs, circa 1939 (est. £2,500-3,500)

A silver cigarette box, engraved with ‘Vivien and Larry Love Myron [Myron Selznick]’. A present from the man credited with securing Vivien with the role of Scarlett O’Hara (est. £400-600)

A gold ring inscribed 'Laurence Olivier Vivien Eternally' (est. £400-600)

Fashion and Jewels, including a pink full length evening dress by Victor Stiebel from circa 1961 (est. £200-300) and a large mid-19^th-century diamond bow brooch or pendant (est. £25,000-35,000)

Vivien’s wig for the film A Streetcar Named Desire, inscribed with her name (est. £400-600)

A portrait of Vivien by Augustus John, 1942 (est. £5,000-7,000)

Notley Abbey by John Piper (est. £8,000-12,000) and Durham Cottage by Felix Kelly, 1954 (est. £3,000-5,000)