Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Best-Picture Oscars Up for Sale in Rare Auction
By admin
Published 6 years ago on
November 19, 2018

Share

LOS ANGELES — Two Academy Awards for best picture are going up for sale in a rare auction of Oscars.

Auction house Profiles in History announced Monday that an Oscar awarded to “Mutiny on the Bounty” in 1936 and another given to “Gentleman’s Agreement” in 1948 will go up for auction in Los Angeles starting Dec. 11.

The “Mutiny on the Bounty” best-picture statuette is expected to go for between $200,000 and $300,000. Frank Capra presented the award to Irving Thalberg at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles when the Academy Awards were less than 10 years old. The award is being put up for sale for the first time by the family of Thalberg, an essential figure in the early history of Hollywood.

Auctions of Oscar statuettes are very uncommon because winners from 1951 onward have had to agree that they or their heirs must offer to sell it back to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for $1 before selling it to anyone else. The Academy has said it firmly believes Oscars should be won, not sold.

The best-picture Oscar for “Gentleman’s Agreement,” the 1947 film starring Gregory Peck that took on anti-Semitism and won three Academy Awards, is expected to fetch between $150,000 and $200,000. Its seller wants to remain anonymous.

Hans Dreier’s art-direction Oscar for 1950’s “Sunset Boulevard” and Gloria Swanson’s Golden Globe for best actress in a drama for the film are also on offer in the December auction along with other historic movie awards.

Auctions of Oscar Statuettes Are Very Uncommon

Auctions of Oscar statuettes are very uncommon because winners from 1951 onward have had to agree that they or their heirs must offer to sell it back to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for $1 before selling it to anyone else. The Academy has said it firmly believes Oscars should be won, not sold.

Still, occasionally Oscars beyond the reach of the rules go up for sale and sell for large sums of money.

The late Michael Jackson acquired David O. Selznick’s “Gone With the Wind” Oscar for a record $1.5 million in 1999.

Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane” statuette sold for $861,542 in 2011.

And in 2014, James Cagney’s best-actor Oscar for 1942’s “Yankee Doodle Dandy” failed to sell when no one would meet the minimum bid demand of $800,000.

DON'T MISS

President Trump Blames DEI and Biden for Crash Under Trump’s Watch

DON'T MISS

Reds Acquire Left-Handed Reliever Taylor Rogers From Giants

DON'T MISS

Driver Vanishes After Crash on Highway 41. CHP Says Hit-and-Runs on the Rise.

DON'T MISS

Gilgeous-Alexander Scores 52 but Curry and Wiggins Lead Balanced Warriors Past Thunder 116-109

DON'T MISS

Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s Pick to Oversee US Spy Agencies, Grilled on Snowden, Syria and Russia

DON'T MISS

Rihanna Appears at Trial of A$AP Rocky and Outshines Key Testimony on Alleged Shooting

DON'T MISS

FireAid, a Benefit for LA Wildfire Relief, Is Almost Here. Here’s How to Watch and Donate

DON'T MISS

Here Are Some of the Deadliest Plane Crashes in US History

DON'T MISS

With Sweeping Executive Orders, Trump Tests Local Control of Schools

DON'T MISS

NASA’s 2 Stuck Astronauts Take Their First Spacewalk Together

UP NEXT

FireAid, a Benefit for LA Wildfire Relief, Is Almost Here. Here’s How to Watch and Donate

UP NEXT

The Brothers Brawl: Jake Paul to Fight Logan Paul in March

UP NEXT

‘Between Borders’ Tugs Fresno’s Heartstrings at Sold-Out Premiere

UP NEXT

Critically Acclaimed Film ‘Between Borders’ Premieres in Fresno

UP NEXT

SZA to Join Kendrick Lamar as a Guest During Super Bowl Halftime Performance

UP NEXT

Oscar Nominations Snubs and Surprises, From Daniel Craig to Selena Gomez

UP NEXT

Taylor Swift and Morgan Wallen Lead the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Award Nominations

UP NEXT

Americans Say It’s Harder to ‘Make It’ Financially Than Ever Before

UP NEXT

The Top 24 Most Anticipated Movie Blockbusters of 2025

UP NEXT

Nintendo’s New Switch 2 Console Will Come Out in 2025

Gilgeous-Alexander Scores 52 but Curry and Wiggins Lead Balanced Warriors Past Thunder 116-109

35 minutes ago

Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s Pick to Oversee US Spy Agencies, Grilled on Snowden, Syria and Russia

58 minutes ago

Rihanna Appears at Trial of A$AP Rocky and Outshines Key Testimony on Alleged Shooting

2 hours ago

FireAid, a Benefit for LA Wildfire Relief, Is Almost Here. Here’s How to Watch and Donate

2 hours ago

Here Are Some of the Deadliest Plane Crashes in US History

2 hours ago

With Sweeping Executive Orders, Trump Tests Local Control of Schools

2 hours ago

NASA’s 2 Stuck Astronauts Take Their First Spacewalk Together

2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Bousen Chanthalangsy

2 hours ago

Baked-in-Profits Send PG&E and SCE Bills Soaring. Are They Excessive?

2 hours ago

Merced Officer Saves Choking Toddler. Brings Her a Stuffed Animal as She Recovers.

3 hours ago

President Trump Blames DEI and Biden for Crash Under Trump’s Watch

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump blamed diversity requirements at the Federal Aviation Administration and his two Democratic predecessors...

21 minutes ago

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One en route from Miami to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
21 minutes ago

President Trump Blames DEI and Biden for Crash Under Trump’s Watch

29 minutes ago

Reds Acquire Left-Handed Reliever Taylor Rogers From Giants

A driver vanished after rolling a car on Freeway 41, highlighting growing concerns over hit-and-run incidents and their consequences. (CHP)
31 minutes ago

Driver Vanishes After Crash on Highway 41. CHP Says Hit-and-Runs on the Rise.

35 minutes ago

Gilgeous-Alexander Scores 52 but Curry and Wiggins Lead Balanced Warriors Past Thunder 116-109

58 minutes ago

Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s Pick to Oversee US Spy Agencies, Grilled on Snowden, Syria and Russia

2 hours ago

Rihanna Appears at Trial of A$AP Rocky and Outshines Key Testimony on Alleged Shooting

2 hours ago

FireAid, a Benefit for LA Wildfire Relief, Is Almost Here. Here’s How to Watch and Donate

2 hours ago

Here Are Some of the Deadliest Plane Crashes in US History

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend