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History on the auction block with Harriman estate
May 20, 1997
Web posted at: 2:55 a.m. EDT (0255 GMT)
NEW YORK (CNN) -- From a painting of Winston Churchill to history-making pens, bidders laid out $4.6 million Monday night for objects belonging to the estate of Pamela Harriman, the late U.S. ambassador to France.
"Staircase in Capri," an oil painting by John Singer Sargent, fetched $1.43 million, the highest bid at Sotheby's on Monday night. Its presale estimate was $750,000 to $1 million.
"There were clearly a lot of people bidding tonight who knew her and wanted to own something that she owned," said Diana Brooks, Sotheby's president.
Bidders showed interest in momentoes from the powerful political figures surrounding the former ambassador, including her first father-in-law, Sir Winston Churchill, and her third husband, former New York Gov. Averell Harriman.
Sale items included everything from a photograph of Harriman at the Yalta Conference with Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill to Churchill's autobiography, called "Triumph and Tragedy," which is inscribed, "To Pamela, from Winston, by Winston."
There's also a rocking chair presented as a gift from President John F. Kennedy to Averell Harriman, a millionaire who ran for president twice and served as ambassador.
Slideshow of items from the Harriman estate |
 (1.2M/70 sec. QuickTime movie) |
Between Monday night and Wednesday afternoon, Sotheby's plans to auction off more than 1,150 items from Harriman's estate. The sale comes less than four months after her death at age 76.
Sotheby's had expected the sale to fetch between $3 million and $6 million over three days, a range it broke on its first day.
The principal beneficiaries from the sale will be Harriman's son, Winston S. Churchill, and his estranged wife.
Among other items sold:
Georges Seurat's "Men Pounding Stakes, Bucherons," the second most valuable artwork, sold for $552,500, well below preauction estimates.
A Paul Cesar Helleu painting, "Young Woman Seated at her Secretaire," sold for $431,500.
An Alexander Calder standing mobile with a preauction estimate of $25,000 to $35,000 sold for $222,500.
A check dated March 19, 1945, for 27 pounds, 3 shillings from Churchill to Averell Harriman to cover a card game debt sold for $14,950.
A still life painted by Churchill of a pitcher, glass and bottles of cognac and scotch sold for $184,000.
Furniture on the block
Pieces of furniture, paintings and decorative items from Harriman's homes, which hosted the rich and famous, are also on sale.
It was in her Georgetown home that Harriman welcomed Jacqueline Kennedy after the president was assassinated. In the 1980s, her home became a democratic haven when the Republicans were in power.
Her sprawling weekend retreat in Middleburg, Virginia, reflected her style.
"It was elegant but comfortable. It was the sort of furniture you could sit on without breaking, yet there were some marvelous antique pieces there," said friend Peter Swiers.
"She not only had good taste herself, she knew how to create it around her," remembered Katharine Graham, matriarch of the family that owns the Washington Post.
Correspondent Norma Quarles, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Ambassador Harriman hospitalized after stroke - February 4, 1997
- Ambassador Harriman near death after stroke - February 3, 1997
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