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

22038

Marian Marsh Unfinished Painting from "Svengali"

Currency:USD Category:Memorabilia Start Price:300.00 USD Estimated At:1,200.00 - 1,800.00 USD
Marian Marsh Unfinished Painting from Svengali
<B>Marian Marsh Unfinished Painting from "Svengali."</B></I> 17-year old Marian Marsh became the talk of Hollywood when, come Christmas Eve of 1930, Warner Bros. officially announced she'd won the widely-coveted role of "Trilby" in <I>Svengali,</B></I> starring John Barrymore. "The Great Profile" (as Barrymore was dubbed) was kind and helpful to his starlet co-star and his genius inspired a performance from Marian that was sexy, dimensional, and ultimately heart-rending. Warner Bros. commissioned several paintings of Marian used in this melodrama (one of which is also featured in this auction) and this is an unfinished, full-length, life-size portrait of Marian as Trilby, standing against a Graeco-Roman background, holding a vase and looking like a spellbinding mix of angel and temptress -- perfect for her role. The 42" x 65" unframed painting is intentionally unfinished, shown in the film as a work-in-progress when the romantic lead "Little Billee" (Bramwell Fletcher) believes (erroneously) that Trilby has drowned herself. The upper area is complete; the lower areas partially so. After Warner Bros. gave Marian this painting, it hung for many years in her home in Palm Desert. Near the end of her life she took it down from the wall to move it and unfortunately hit it against a bookshelf, creating two small rips in the forehead area. (Repair work, if desired, should be possible with minor trouble and expense.) The lot includes a picture of Marian taken in 1992, posing with the painting at her home. This is a quite stunning work of original Hollywood art, and for many years was one of the first things seen every morning and the one of the last things seen every night by the woman who'd starred in <I>Svengali</B></I>.<I>From the Marian Marsh Archive.</B></I><BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Clothing, Costumes & Jerseys (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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