Judy Garland’s Ruby Slippers From ‘Wizard of Oz’ Sold For Millions

A pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz” offered at public sale on Saturday for an astounding value, setting a report as probably the most useful piece of film memorabilia ever offered at public sale.

The sale additionally set a brand new report for an leisure public sale, with the occasion producing practically $40 million in complete.

Among the many objects offered was the Depraved Witch’s hat from “The Wizard of Oz,” which fetched $2.9 million.

The enduring slippers worn by Judy Garland offered for $32.5 million at public sale. The heels are one in every of solely 4 identified surviving pairs from the 1939 traditional and have a storied historical past, together with being stolen from a museum earlier than their restoration.

Based on Heritage Auctions, stay bidding for the enduring sneakers started at $1.55 million, with preliminary estimates inserting their worth at $3 million or larger. The ruby slippers surpassed their preliminary estimate “inside seconds,” with no different pair of ruby slippers coming near their ultimate promoting value.

One pair offered for $666,000 in 2000, whereas one other was bought in 2012 by Steven Spielberg and Leonardo DiCaprio for $2 million and later donated to the Academy Museum of Movement Footage in Los Angeles.

This explicit pair of ruby slippers carries an notorious historical past that will have contributed to their excessive worth. In 2005, they had been stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, by Terry Jon Martin, who smashed the show case with a hammer to steal the sneakers, as reported by the Related Press.

13 years after the theft, the stolen ruby slippers had been recovered in a 2018 FBI sting operation following a tip.

To verify their authenticity, the recovered sneakers had been cross-referenced with a pair housed on the Smithsonian. Based on the public sale home, sooner or later, the pairs had been swapped, with every containing one shoe from two totally different units of ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz.”

Judy Garland’s portrayal of Dorothy Gale in “The Wizard of Oz” is likely one of the most celebrated performances in movie historical past. At simply 16 years outdated, Garland introduced depth and attraction to the position of a younger Kansas farm woman swept away by a twister to the magical land of Oz. On her journey to the Emerald Metropolis to hunt assist from the Wizard, Dorothy befriends the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion, forming one in every of cinema’s most beloved ensembles.

Garland’s efficiency captured Dorothy’s innocence, dedication, and sense of surprise, together with her heartfelt rendition of “Over the Rainbow” turning into an iconic second in movie historical past. The music, which received the Academy Award for Greatest Authentic Music, stays synonymous with Garland’s legacy.

“The Wizard of Oz,” tailored from L. Frank Baum’s traditional novel, was groundbreaking for its use of Technicolor, unforgettable music, and imaginative storytelling.

The Ruby Slippers are among the many most iconic and incessantly asked-about artifacts at The Smithsonian. They function the centerpiece of an exhibition on the Nationwide Museum of American Historical past, the place hundreds of thousands of tourists are captivated by them annually. Of the unique pairs created for “The Wizard of Oz” in 1939, 4 are identified to have survived over 85 years for the reason that movie was made at MGM Studios in Culver Metropolis.

As Rhys Thomas acknowledged in his guide, “The Ruby Slippers of Oz,” the ruby slippers “had been far more than only a piece of Hollywood memorabilia, far more than a useful piece of business historical past. They transcended Hollywood, to the purpose the place they represented the highly effective picture of innocence to all America.”

The Ruby Slippers are a classic creation by the Innes Shoe Co., meticulously crafted from pink silk faille with uppers and heels adorned with hand-sequined silk georgette. The sneakers are lined in white leather-based, with leather-based soles painted pink and orange felt adhered to the entrance basis. Their bows, barely differing in measurement, are product of hand-cut buckram fabric, edged with rhinestones, and crammed with bugle beads encircling three heart jewels.

Every shoe has distinctive traits: the left shoe incorporates a barely thicker, shorter heel with a Cat’s Paw rubber high carry cap, whereas the suitable shoe has a taller, thinner heel capped with leather-based. Each caps are painted pink, and the sneakers show a deep burgundy hue, a results of cautious storage out of direct mild. Inside every shoe is an embossed label studying “Innes Shoe Co., Los Angeles, Pasadena, Hollywood,” whereas “Judy Garland” is inscribed neatly in black ink on the internal white leather-based lining of each sneakers.