^Lot 1203 Katharine Hepburn

Wonderful original watercolor and oil profile self-portrait, in costume as Eleanor of Aquitane from The Lion in Winter, 5 x 9.5, signed and inscribed at the bottom in black ink, “For Vi, Katharine Hepburn.” Matted and framed to an overall size of 8 x 12.75. In fine condition. Hepburn’s love affair with painting can be traced to the 1930s, around the same time she began dating Howard Hughes, and continued until she was well into her 80s. The recipient of this one-of-a-kind masterpiece was Violet ‘Vi’ Murray, wardrobe mistress for many of Hepburn’s films including The African Queen and The Lion in Winter. An unsigned Hepburn watercolor self-portrait sold at the 2004 Sotheby’s Hepburn estate sale for $22,800, and a watercolor self-portrait with Spencer Tracy sold for $66,000.