LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 Oct. Sig. Entertainment Memorabilia #648  / 

22037

Marian Marsh Prop Painting from "Svengali"

Currency:USD Category:Memorabilia Start Price:2,000.00 USD Estimated At:3,200.00 - 4,800.00 USD
Marian Marsh Prop Painting from Svengali
<B>Marian Marsh Madonna-Style Prop Painting from "Svengali."</B></I> "Greatest Star of Today and Greatest Star of Tomorrow in a Drama that Will Live Forever!" proclaimed Warner Bros. as it premiered <I>Svengali</B></I> (1931), based on the 1895 George Du Maurier novel. "Today's" greatest star was John Barrymore, giving perhaps his finest screen performance as the sly, sinister and finally heartbreaking Svengali, while "Tomorrow's" greatest star was 17-year old Marian Marsh, who played Trilby, hypnotized by Svengali into becoming both a singing sensation and his reluctant lover. Marian Marsh never fulfilled Warner's lavish promotion, yet her Trilby remains a uniquely fascinating portrayal: an alluring, sympathetic and ultimately tragic horror heroine who, in a climax still startling more than 75 years later, willingly joins her villain in death. The painting was created especially for the film, and is a beautiful portrait in the style of a Raphaelite Madonna, with halo, religiously iconic and designed to represent the spiritual essence that the hero, the artist "Little Billee" (Bramwell Fletcher), saw in Trilby. The painting appears in the film, the lower area sketched but not painted; it was eventually completed and refined, and Warner Bros. gave it to Marian, who proudly displayed the painting in her home in Palm Desert, where it hung until her death in 2006. The painting measures 28" x 36" inside an impressive 34" x 42" off-white frame with gold streaking. The portrait also comes with an 11" x 14" Warner Bros. publicity display with a 7.5" x 9.5" inset picture of the artist (unidentified) painting this portrait as Marian poses for it. (This display has some damage on the right border, none touching the photo.) This is an exquisite artifact from one of Hollywood's great Golden Age melodramas, as well a very impressive piece of artwork in its own right, and a rather touching memento that reminded a long-retired actress of her past fame. <I>From the Marian Marsh Archive.</B></I><BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Framed - without Glass, Large (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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