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

Country Star Clint Black Brings ‘Back on the Blacktop’ Tour to Chukchansi

DON'T MISS

State Labor Board Hands Another Defeat to Clovis Unified

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: Chief Casto and Keeping Fresno Safe

DON'T MISS

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day With Food, Music, and Green Beer at Fresno Street Eats Events

DON'T MISS

Don’t Click on Those Road Toll Texts. Officials Issue Warnings About the Smishing Scam

DON'T MISS

Pentagon Leaker Jack Teixeira Pleads Guilty to Obstructing Justice, Calls Self a ‘Proud Patriot’

DON'T MISS

Jewish Protesters Flood Trump Tower’s Lobby to Demand Mahmoud Khalil’s Release

DON'T MISS

Sudan War Is World’s Worst Humanitarian Crisis: 30 Million Need Aid, 16 Million of Them Kids

DON'T MISS

Visalia Police Seek Public’s Help in Locating Stolen SUV

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police to Conduct Bicycle, Pedestrian Safety Operation Saturday

UP NEXT

The One-Take Wonder of ‘Adolescence,’ a Family Drama About Knife Crime

UP NEXT

Billy Gunn Not the One as AEW Hits Fresno on Wednesday

UP NEXT

5 Game-Changing Wellness Travel Trends to Watch in 2025 and Beyond

UP NEXT

14 Inspirational Women Who Built and Preserved Route 66

UP NEXT

Gene Hackman Died of Heart Disease, Wife Died of Hantavirus, Authorities Say

UP NEXT

Angry Birds, Frogger and Others Are Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame

UP NEXT

iHeartMedia Says Legal Dispute With Drake Was Settled Because It ‘Did Nothing Wrong’

UP NEXT

Hulu’s First Live Oscars Stream Cuts out in Latest High-Profile Mishap for Streaming Platforms

UP NEXT

Swede Fest is Back in Town and Calling Filmmakers Young and Old

UP NEXT

Grammy-Nominated R&B Singer Angie Stone Dies in Car Crash

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day With Food, Music, and Green Beer at Fresno Street Eats Events

40 minutes ago

Don’t Click on Those Road Toll Texts. Officials Issue Warnings About the Smishing Scam

1 hour ago

Pentagon Leaker Jack Teixeira Pleads Guilty to Obstructing Justice, Calls Self a ‘Proud Patriot’

1 hour ago

Jewish Protesters Flood Trump Tower’s Lobby to Demand Mahmoud Khalil’s Release

2 hours ago

Sudan War Is World’s Worst Humanitarian Crisis: 30 Million Need Aid, 16 Million of Them Kids

2 hours ago

Visalia Police Seek Public’s Help in Locating Stolen SUV

3 hours ago

Fresno Police to Conduct Bicycle, Pedestrian Safety Operation Saturday

3 hours ago

Tesla Owners Struggle with Brand Loyalty Amid Musk’s DOGE Controversies

3 hours ago

Trump’s Budget Plan Puts David Valadao on the Medi-Cal Hot Seat

4 hours ago

Meta to Start Testing Crowd-Sourced Fact-Checking, Based on X Example, Next Week

4 hours ago

Country Star Clint Black Brings ‘Back on the Blacktop’ Tour to Chukchansi

Country music legend Clint Black is set to grace the stage at Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino’s Sounds of Summer concert series on...

10 minutes ago

10 minutes ago

Country Star Clint Black Brings ‘Back on the Blacktop’ Tour to Chukchansi

18 minutes ago

State Labor Board Hands Another Defeat to Clovis Unified

35 minutes ago

Wired Wednesday: Chief Casto and Keeping Fresno Safe

40 minutes ago

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day With Food, Music, and Green Beer at Fresno Street Eats Events

1 hour ago

Don’t Click on Those Road Toll Texts. Officials Issue Warnings About the Smishing Scam

1 hour ago

Pentagon Leaker Jack Teixeira Pleads Guilty to Obstructing Justice, Calls Self a ‘Proud Patriot’

2 hours ago

Jewish Protesters Flood Trump Tower’s Lobby to Demand Mahmoud Khalil’s Release

2 hours ago

Sudan War Is World’s Worst Humanitarian Crisis: 30 Million Need Aid, 16 Million of Them Kids

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

Search

Send this to a friend