Sotheby's Unveils Entire Collection of Memorabilia from Frank and Barbara Sinatra’s Estate Auction

Joyce Chen
Updated

After teasing a few of the items that would be up sale in their upcoming auction for Frank and Barbara Sinatra in September, Sotheby's unveiled today the entire contents of Lady Blue Eyes: Property of Barbara and Frank Sinatra, the Sinatra estate sale set to commence this December via both live and online auction.

According to Sotheby’s, most of the items will draw from the Sinatras’ residences in Palm Springs, Los Angeles, and Malibu. Amid the haul will be a number of scripts linked to Frank’s career in music and film, such as those for From Here to Eternity, Ocean’s 11, and On the Town. Also up on the auction block will be pieces from the couple’s extensive collection of fine art, including a portrait of Frank that Ol’ Blue Eyes himself commissioned from Norman Rockwell in 1973.

A Childe Hassam painting owned by the couple, Bathers and Cloud Reflections, 1914.
A Childe Hassam painting owned by the couple, Bathers and Cloud Reflections, 1914.
A painting by Frank Sinatra, Abstract After Mondrian.
A painting by Frank Sinatra, Abstract After Mondrian.
Norman Rockwell's portrait of Frank Sinatra, Sinatra, an American Classic.
Norman Rockwell's portrait of Frank Sinatra, Sinatra, an American Classic.

Select items from Barbara’s impressive jewelry collection will also be available for the taking, and choice among the pieces is a diamond engagement ring—which Frank gave to Barbara in a champagne glass—that measures in at more than 20 carats.

Barbara's diamond necklace and engagement ring.
Barbara's diamond necklace and engagement ring.
Photo: Courtesy Sotheby's

From Frank’s closet, a slightly more unexpected auction item: a “U.S. Drinking Team” jacket custom-made for the crooner and a few of his closest friends, with Frank the designated “coach” of the team. The couple’s joint memorabilia for sale will feature a number of signed letters, books, and photographs, including those from every sitting president of the United States from Harry Truman to Bill Clinton.

Letters from Presidents John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton.
Letters from Presidents John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton.
Photo: Courtesy Sotheby's

Many of Frank’s sports paraphernalia—such a set of his personal golf clubs and a signed L.A. Dodgers baseball—will also be on the auction block.

Sports memorabilia.
Sports memorabilia.
Photo: Courtesy Sotheby's

Sotheby's will showcase family furniture, decorative art, and home decor from the Sinatra estates.

Dodie Thayer pottery owned by Frank and Barbara Sinatra.
Dodie Thayer pottery owned by Frank and Barbara Sinatra.
A set of seven Baccarat cut-glass 'Harmonie' tumblers.
A set of seven Baccarat cut-glass 'Harmonie' tumblers.
Tiffany studios Peony lamp.
Tiffany studios Peony lamp.
Photo: Courtesy Sotheby's

The Sinatras’ compound in Palm Springs was famously one of Frank’s favorite getaways, and much of their home there was outfitted with items that held special meaning to him and Barbara. He originally built a house in Palm Springs in 1947 and then, in the mid-'50s, moved to a smaller abode just a few miles southeast of the one he built. It is this two-bedroom, one-story house that is most commonly linked to the singer, and from which many of the December auction items will come. A portion of the proceeds from the auctions will go toward the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center in Rancho Mirage, California, a nonprofit the couple founded in 1986 that seeks to provide counseling for victims of physical, sexual, and emotional child abuse.