The 72-year-old actress will put a number of diverse objects, including clothing, engraved baby cups, a paycheque her late mother Judy Garland received from MGM Studios when she was just 13, and a watercolour portrait of her at the age of three, up for sale through auction house Profiles in History next month.
Speaking about her idea for the sale, Liza told the New York Times newspaper via her friend Michael Feinstein: “I woke up one day and thought, ‘Honey, you ain’t gonna wait till you’ve bought the farm and leave your life on someone else’s doorstep.’
“My life is a gift of flowing friendships and relationships, all collected in these objects. It’s with many emotions that I share them.”
Also up for sale will be Judy’s scrapbooks and 35-mm screening copies of her movies, as well as clothes by the likes of Halston, Donna Karan, Bob Mackie, Gianni Versace, Gucci, and Isaac Mizrahi.
Items belonging to Liza’s father, late director Vincente Minnelli, will also be included in the sale. Those lots include the Directors Guild Award he won for ‘Gigi’, an Academy Award nomination plaque, and a rare one-sheet poster from 1943 musical ‘Cabin in the Sky’.
Joe Maddalena, CEO of Profiles in History said of the sale: “We’re basically telling their family history.
“It’s a giant collection from the birth of Liza to what this woman became, plus the flash of when she met Halston. You’ll be able to see a celebration of her life, her parents’ lives, and how all this came about. Think about the talent among the three of them!”
Some of the items – including an annotated ‘Cabaret’ script and Liza’s famous bowler hat, one-of-a-kind Halston flapper dresses and a cheque for $20,000 made out to and endorsed by Andy Warhol – will go on display ahead of the auction.
The ‘Love, Liza’ exhibition opened this week at Beverly Hills’ Paley Center for Media.