Elizabeth Taylor Collection goes on show at Christie's in London

Elizabeth Taylor Collection goes on show at Christie's in London

23 September, 2011
by: Mary Selman

The most sumptuous exhibition in town opens today! For three days only...

"'The more the better' has always been my motto." So said Elizabeth Taylor, and indeed, why have one (enormous) diamond when you could have thousands? This weekend sees Taylor's extraordinary personal collection of paintings, couture and jewellery go on display at Christie's on King Street in central London as part of a three-month global tour that will culminate in a sale that will doubtless make auction history at sale in New York later this year.

Comprising pieces acquired at all stages of her 50-year reign as the 'Queen of Hollywood', the exhibition showcases many of her most striking and historic pieces in what Marc Porter, Chairman and President of Christie's Americas, describes as “the greatest private collection ever assembled in one place”.

Taylor reportedly always intended to auction her legacy for charity; Christie's, entrusted with Taylor's vast array of iconic pieces following her death in March, conservatively estimates that the jewellery alone will raise in excess of $30 million, with proceeds from the sale of select publications, exhibition admissions and event sponsorships going to the Elizabeth Taylor Aids Foundation.

It says much about the cult of the woman herself that amidst pieces previously owned by Wallis Simpson, the Bonapartes and Philip of Spain, it is Taylor herself whose personality and taste dominate entirely. She “bought what she herself liked”, collaborated in the design of her gowns, and as the daughter of an art dealer, was also extremely well-informed. Where stars now borrow jewels for the red carpet, the jewels might receive equal or more press coverage – but in Taylor's case, they would be named for her.

Highlights include the 'Elizabeth Taylor diamond' (formerly known as the Krupp), a 33.19 carat diamond that Taylor would apparently wear around the house; as well as the 'Taj Mahal', originally given by the Shah Jahan to the wife who also famously inspired the building of the Taj Mahal.

Fascinated not only by the scale and brilliance of such rocks but also by their histories, major pieces sit alongside charms and mementoes from friends (including a brooch given by the Duke of Windsor to his wife). And in the stories lies the balance of this remarkable display – only the epic personal dramas played out in these jewels could sufficiently counterbalance the mega-wattage of the stones. As David Warren says of "La Peregrina", a 50-carat teardrop pearl whose narrative traces back unbroken to its discovery in the Gulf of Panama in the 1500s, whilst there might be 'around eight other pearls of this size' in existence, there certainly aren't any that are as 'good' - or indeed that appear in Velazquez portraits from the 17th century.   

The paintings and couture here echo the colours and commanding femininity of the jewellery. The many Augustus John portraits, clothed and nude, feature sapphire blues and bright peridot greens – and, tellingly perhaps, the rosebud lips and pale complexion so reminiscent of Taylor's own face. A splash of 'framboise' is the neckerchief on a Degas self-portrait; while Pissarro's loaded brush confers an intensely pigmented rural scene with wonderful texture and movement.

An unexpected highlight are two de Vlaminck landscapes, the appeal of whose wintry drama will not surprise anyone who saw her interpretation of The Taming of the Shrew. Taylor's face smoulders out of Warhol's 'Liz', and is picked out in rhinestones on a – surprise, surprise – Versace jacket.

Elizabeth Taylor apparently never left the house unaware that it was she whom people were coming to see; and with a good hour required to take in the glamour and charisma of just part of her legacy, one can scarcely imagine the impact that she must have had in person.

For any star of a lesser magnitude, the sheer eye-popping self-referential grandeur and uncompromising ostentation might seem narcissistic, even brash; for Taylor, merely apt. Utterly splendid.

Highlights from The Elizabeth Taylor Collection is at Christie's King Street from 24th to 26th September (Saturday and Sunday 0930-1730; Monday 0930-1200). Admission is £10, with all profits going to the Elizabeth Taylor Aids Foundation.

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Photo credit: ©Douglas Kirkland Corbis.

Mary Selman