Post by smith on Jan 5, 2006 4:22:53 GMT -5
A self-portrait of the actress Katharine Hepburn having breakfast in bed at the Bellevue Hotel in Brisbane sold yesterday for $US33,000 ($47,695), more than 40 times the pre-auction estimate.
The portrait, which the four-time Oscar winner painted while she toured Australia in 1955, had been estimated by Sotheby's to be worth between $US600-$US800.
Her other paintings of Australia generated similar excitement. A watercolor of the Barrenjoey Lighthouse, with a pre-auction estimate of $US300-$US500, went for $US14,400.
A silver cigarette box, engraved with "To Miss Katharine Hepburn with Thanks from Australia for Your Help in Our Victory Loan John Curtin Prime Minister", sold for $US7200 (pre-auction estimate $US400-$US600).
A 1952 passport issued to Hepburn, bearing stamps from New York, London, Paris, Rome, and Australia, sold for $US5100 (estimate $US1500-$US2500).
Sotheby's would not reveal the buyers' identities, saying only there was "interest from Australia".
What is known is that the Admans family once owners of the glorious Bellevue Hotel was not among the buyers.
"I put in a bid of twice the estimated price," said Bill Admans. "I thought we might be lucky." His father, Barry, who is almost 80, has vivid memories of the Bellevue, as do many Queenslanders. It was a glorious building but, at midnight on April 21, 1979, developers knocked it to the ground.
Katharine Hepburn stayed in room 38, the VIP suite. At the time, the family also owned a sheep and cattle station at Inverell, and Hepburn "wanted to see what an Australian farm was like". Barry's mother dissuaded Hepburn, saying she had just had a baby, and besides, they had only one bathroom.
"I don't think Katharine Hepburn would have given a hoot," said Bill. "She was a very down-to-earth, practical person. She played golf and flew planes."
The auction so far has raised more than $US3 million, with proceeds going to Hepburn's siblings. It continued in New York overnight
MICHAEL CATHCART: Now, you'd have to imagine that every Australian city and town has at least one building that the locals reckon is so much part of their history that it would be an act of vandalism to knock the place down. But it wasn't so very long ago that the urge to bring in the wrecker's ball in the name of progress knew very few limits. And, you know, veteran ABC 'Four Corners' reporter Peter Ross is still outraged, even after a quarter of a century, at the way a cherished Brisbane landmark, the Bellevue Hotel, met its end.
PETER ROSS, REWIND REPORTER: It was here where the top end of town in Brisbane and the graziers from the broad acres met. It was here where romances blossomed and courtships happened. The GIs during the war had a ball here. Politicians made the Bellevue a home from home. For anyone with half an eye for beautiful colonial architecture, the Bellevue was a prime example. Its destruction was an outrage.
((PETER AND GEORGE ADMAN, FORMER BELLEVUE OWNER, WALK THROUGH THE PARK WHERE THE BELLEVUE HOTEL ONCE STOOD)
PETER ROSS: Why the heck did they do it? Well, why did they do it?
GEORGE ADMAN, FORMER BELLEVUE OWNER: I don't know, really.
PETER ROSS: George Adman's family had owned the Bellevue and he'd managed it for a number of years. He'd learned of his old family's hotel's destruction from the Melbourne newspapers.
GEORGE ADMAN: The deceitful way they moved in with the bulldozers at night and destroyed it. And you had a feeling of, well, sadness and horror that it could happen.
(GEORGE EXAMINES A PLAQUE WITH THE HEADER "BELLEVUE HOTEL, 1886 - 1979")
PETER ROSS: This is the first time George Adman has come back to the site of the Bellevue.
GEORGE ADMAN: It was a tremendous building and it had a lot of memories. I had the memories of the war, all the servicemen, overseas visitors, all the artists - Katharine Hepburn, Robert Helpmann, Nat 'King' Cole, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong.
Katharine Hepburn remains a very fond memory. She used to send Christmas cards to my mother every year for many years.
PETER ROSS: Did she keep in contact with the United States when she was here?
GEORGE ADMAN: Yes, she used to ring Spencer Tracy every night.
PETER ROSS: (Laughs) Really?
GEORGE ADMAN: Yes, every night. There would be a mass of phone calls.
The portrait, which the four-time Oscar winner painted while she toured Australia in 1955, had been estimated by Sotheby's to be worth between $US600-$US800.
Her other paintings of Australia generated similar excitement. A watercolor of the Barrenjoey Lighthouse, with a pre-auction estimate of $US300-$US500, went for $US14,400.
A silver cigarette box, engraved with "To Miss Katharine Hepburn with Thanks from Australia for Your Help in Our Victory Loan John Curtin Prime Minister", sold for $US7200 (pre-auction estimate $US400-$US600).
A 1952 passport issued to Hepburn, bearing stamps from New York, London, Paris, Rome, and Australia, sold for $US5100 (estimate $US1500-$US2500).
Sotheby's would not reveal the buyers' identities, saying only there was "interest from Australia".
What is known is that the Admans family once owners of the glorious Bellevue Hotel was not among the buyers.
"I put in a bid of twice the estimated price," said Bill Admans. "I thought we might be lucky." His father, Barry, who is almost 80, has vivid memories of the Bellevue, as do many Queenslanders. It was a glorious building but, at midnight on April 21, 1979, developers knocked it to the ground.
Katharine Hepburn stayed in room 38, the VIP suite. At the time, the family also owned a sheep and cattle station at Inverell, and Hepburn "wanted to see what an Australian farm was like". Barry's mother dissuaded Hepburn, saying she had just had a baby, and besides, they had only one bathroom.
"I don't think Katharine Hepburn would have given a hoot," said Bill. "She was a very down-to-earth, practical person. She played golf and flew planes."
The auction so far has raised more than $US3 million, with proceeds going to Hepburn's siblings. It continued in New York overnight
MICHAEL CATHCART: Now, you'd have to imagine that every Australian city and town has at least one building that the locals reckon is so much part of their history that it would be an act of vandalism to knock the place down. But it wasn't so very long ago that the urge to bring in the wrecker's ball in the name of progress knew very few limits. And, you know, veteran ABC 'Four Corners' reporter Peter Ross is still outraged, even after a quarter of a century, at the way a cherished Brisbane landmark, the Bellevue Hotel, met its end.
PETER ROSS, REWIND REPORTER: It was here where the top end of town in Brisbane and the graziers from the broad acres met. It was here where romances blossomed and courtships happened. The GIs during the war had a ball here. Politicians made the Bellevue a home from home. For anyone with half an eye for beautiful colonial architecture, the Bellevue was a prime example. Its destruction was an outrage.
((PETER AND GEORGE ADMAN, FORMER BELLEVUE OWNER, WALK THROUGH THE PARK WHERE THE BELLEVUE HOTEL ONCE STOOD)
PETER ROSS: Why the heck did they do it? Well, why did they do it?
GEORGE ADMAN, FORMER BELLEVUE OWNER: I don't know, really.
PETER ROSS: George Adman's family had owned the Bellevue and he'd managed it for a number of years. He'd learned of his old family's hotel's destruction from the Melbourne newspapers.
GEORGE ADMAN: The deceitful way they moved in with the bulldozers at night and destroyed it. And you had a feeling of, well, sadness and horror that it could happen.
(GEORGE EXAMINES A PLAQUE WITH THE HEADER "BELLEVUE HOTEL, 1886 - 1979")
PETER ROSS: This is the first time George Adman has come back to the site of the Bellevue.
GEORGE ADMAN: It was a tremendous building and it had a lot of memories. I had the memories of the war, all the servicemen, overseas visitors, all the artists - Katharine Hepburn, Robert Helpmann, Nat 'King' Cole, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong.
Katharine Hepburn remains a very fond memory. She used to send Christmas cards to my mother every year for many years.
PETER ROSS: Did she keep in contact with the United States when she was here?
GEORGE ADMAN: Yes, she used to ring Spencer Tracy every night.
PETER ROSS: (Laughs) Really?
GEORGE ADMAN: Yes, every night. There would be a mass of phone calls.