More than 300 items from the personal collection of beloved television actress Mary Tyler Moore will go to auction at Doyle New York on June 4th. The sale includes art, decorative objects, memorabilia, and jewelry from the late actor’s home in Greenwich, Connecticut, along with select pieces drawn from her residences in Manhattan and Millbrook, New York.
Moore, who passed away in 2017, rose to prominence in the 1960s for her role in the The Dick Van Dyke Show. In 1970, she stepped into her role as Mary Richards on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She was widely recognized for defying stereotypes in her portrayal of a single, working woman not preoccupied with marriage. Over her career, she received seven Emmy Awards, three Golden Globes, a Tony Award, and an Academy Award nomination for Ordinary People (1980).
The auction of Moore’s collection features two untitled 1987 sculptures by Italian Neo-Expressionist Mimmo Paladino, each estimated at $50,000 to $70,000. One is a minimalist depiction of a double-faced figure made from limestone, while the other, made from limestone and oil, features a highly decorated human figure. Other works include a papier-mâché mask by Robert Courtright, estimated at $3,000 to $5,000, and Moore’s collection of Byzantine and pre-Columbian pottery.
Moore’s collection also included portraits of herself by notable artists, including Pop artist Peter Max, presidential portraitist Everett Raymond Kinstler, and celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz. The Leibovitz work is a 1995 Polaroid photo of Moore and Dick Van Dyke shot for Vanity Fair, which carries an estimate of $4,000 to $6,000.
Among the career memorabilia on offer are original drawings by Al Hirschfeld, capturing Moore’s roles on The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, as well as decor from Moore’s on-screen apartment in her eponymous show and an unused ticket to the taping of its 1977 series finale. The auction also features a large selection of Moore’s furniture and jewelry, including a gold Tiffany bracelet designed by Paloma Picasso—the daughter of Pablo Picasso—which carries an estimate of $6,000 to $8,000. Highlights from the sale will be on view in Beverly Hills, California until May 20th, before a public preview in New York from May 30th to June 2nd.
This isn’t the first time work from Moore’s personal collection has appeared at auction. Ocean Park #137 (1985), a Richard Diebenkorn painting owned by Moore and her husband Robert Levine, sold for $22.58 million at Christie’s New York in 2018.
