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| Brooke Astor's collected life finally goes under the hammer | Brooke Astor's collected life finally goes under the hammer |
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| "Money," the late philanthropist and New York socialite Brooke Astor was fond of saying, "is like manure. It's not worth a thing unless it's spread around." | "Money," the late philanthropist and New York socialite Brooke Astor was fond of saying, "is like manure. It's not worth a thing unless it's spread around." |
| Five years after her death, that sentiment was embodied on Monday in the start of a two-day auction of some 900 of her personal effects to raise millions for her favourite charities and institutions. | Five years after her death, that sentiment was embodied on Monday in the start of a two-day auction of some 900 of her personal effects to raise millions for her favourite charities and institutions. |
| Sotheby's is offering the contents of two of Astor's residences – her Park Avenue duplex, with its Albert Hadley-designed library, and her Holly Hill country estate in New York state. | Sotheby's is offering the contents of two of Astor's residences – her Park Avenue duplex, with its Albert Hadley-designed library, and her Holly Hill country estate in New York state. |
| The grande dame of the Big Apple collected throughout her long life. She died in 2007, aged 105. European and Asian furnishings, old masters, Qing dynasty paintings and more than 100 paintings of dogs – she was a lover of all animals but especially dachshunds – are going under the hammer and are expected to raise between $6.5m (£4m) and $9m. | The grande dame of the Big Apple collected throughout her long life. She died in 2007, aged 105. European and Asian furnishings, old masters, Qing dynasty paintings and more than 100 paintings of dogs – she was a lover of all animals but especially dachshunds – are going under the hammer and are expected to raise between $6.5m (£4m) and $9m. |
| Items of particular note include a platinum emerald-and-diamond necklace, designed by Bulgari. Provenance is everything, and so the auction catalogue includes a classic photograph of her wearing the necklace while chatting to President Lyndon Johnson at a black-tie event in 1969. It is expected to sell for $250,000-$350,000. | Items of particular note include a platinum emerald-and-diamond necklace, designed by Bulgari. Provenance is everything, and so the auction catalogue includes a classic photograph of her wearing the necklace while chatting to President Lyndon Johnson at a black-tie event in 1969. It is expected to sell for $250,000-$350,000. |
| Another photograph, taken at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, shows her with her friends Nancy Reagan and the designer Oscar de le Renta while receiving an award from the Fashion Designers of America. Lot 895, the platinum and diamond brooch she was sporting that night, is estimated at $50,000-$60,000. | Another photograph, taken at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, shows her with her friends Nancy Reagan and the designer Oscar de le Renta while receiving an award from the Fashion Designers of America. Lot 895, the platinum and diamond brooch she was sporting that night, is estimated at $50,000-$60,000. |
| There are Chinese jade, turquoise and porcelain pieces, and Indian gold and carved ivory reflecting her passion for Asian art and furniture. Her international outlook was informed in part by her father's military career, which took the family all over the world. | There are Chinese jade, turquoise and porcelain pieces, and Indian gold and carved ivory reflecting her passion for Asian art and furniture. Her international outlook was informed in part by her father's military career, which took the family all over the world. |
| An imperial Chinese gilt-bronze lion clock, estimated at $180,000 to $220,000, is among items expected to raise the highest bids. Enthusiasts will be bidding, too, for her collections of animal sculptures by Herbert Haseltine. | An imperial Chinese gilt-bronze lion clock, estimated at $180,000 to $220,000, is among items expected to raise the highest bids. Enthusiasts will be bidding, too, for her collections of animal sculptures by Herbert Haseltine. |
| "This is a woman who surrounded herself with the things that she loved," said Elaine Whitmire, vice-chair of Sotheby's single-owner collections. "You can see it in the upholstery, you can see it in the porcelain that she used – floral, animal and Asian-inspired. | "This is a woman who surrounded herself with the things that she loved," said Elaine Whitmire, vice-chair of Sotheby's single-owner collections. "You can see it in the upholstery, you can see it in the porcelain that she used – floral, animal and Asian-inspired. |
| "You see not only paintings of dogs, but also sculptures of camels, bulls and pigs. She clearly adored animals, and that passion was reflected not only in her residences … they were also the passions of her philanthropic legacy." | "You see not only paintings of dogs, but also sculptures of camels, bulls and pigs. She clearly adored animals, and that passion was reflected not only in her residences … they were also the passions of her philanthropic legacy." |
| That philanthropy earned Astor a Presidential Medal of Freedom. Using the fortune left to her by her third husband, Vincent Astor, heir to a fortune originally built on fur trading, she supported many New York institutions and causes. Those expected to benefit from the auction include the New York public library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Bronx zoo, Central Park, plus the Animal Medical Centre of New York, New York Ccity's public schools and charities in Maine. | That philanthropy earned Astor a Presidential Medal of Freedom. Using the fortune left to her by her third husband, Vincent Astor, heir to a fortune originally built on fur trading, she supported many New York institutions and causes. Those expected to benefit from the auction include the New York public library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Bronx zoo, Central Park, plus the Animal Medical Centre of New York, New York Ccity's public schools and charities in Maine. |
| The auction comes after a family feud involving her only son, Anthony Marshall. The five-year dispute ended in March with a settlement that freed $100m for her charities and cut by more than half the amount going to Marshall, 85, who was convicted of taking advantage of his mother's dementia, partly by engineering changes to her will. He has appealed. | The auction comes after a family feud involving her only son, Anthony Marshall. The five-year dispute ended in March with a settlement that freed $100m for her charities and cut by more than half the amount going to Marshall, 85, who was convicted of taking advantage of his mother's dementia, partly by engineering changes to her will. He has appealed. |
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