Elizabeth Taylor auctions raise $183 million

LONDON (AP) - February 9, 2012 (WPVI) -- Paintings, jewelry and fashions belonging to the late Elizabeth Taylor have sold for more than $183 million, with all of the more than 1,800 items on offer snapped up, Christie's auction house said Thursday.

Christie's said 1,817 lots were sold at a series of auctions in New York and London, some at 50 times their pre-sale estimates.

The most expensive was Vincent van Gogh's landscape "Vue de l'asile et de la Chapelle de Remy," which once hung in the living room of Taylor's Bel Air home. It sold for 10.1 million pounds ($16 million), including the buyer's premium.

The daughter of a London art dealer, Taylor amassed a substantial collection of 19th and 20th century art, including works by Edgar Degas and Auguste Renoir.

Hollywood legend Taylor - whose films included "Cleopatra," ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" - died in March aged 79, and Christie's has been selling her belongings on behalf of the Elizabeth Taylor Trust.

New York sales of jewelry, fashion and memorabilia in December raised more than $156 million, with a buyer paying $8.8 million for a 33.19-carat diamond ring given to Taylor by actor Richard Burton, whom she married twice.

A sale of 38 paintings in London on Tuesday and Wednesday raised an additional 15.6 million pounds ($24.6 million).

"The global outpouring of affection and admiration for Elizabeth Taylor from fans and collectors alike has been amazing for us to witness," said Marc Porter, chairman of Christie's Americas.

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