Personal effects from the estate of actress Diane Keaton, who died in October at age 79, will go under the hammer in four sales at Bonhams in New York and Los Angeles this May and June. The collection includes clothing, furniture, books, artworks, and movie memorabilia. Exhibitions will precede the sales in both cities.
Bonhams announced the auctions on Monday, titled Diane Keaton: The Architecture of an Icon. Anna Hicks, the auction house's US head of private and iconic collections, described Keaton as a consummate editor whose choices reflected precision and clarity. Items span scripts from films like Baby Boom, Father of the Bride, and The Godfather trilogy, alongside clothing from designers such as Ralph Lauren, Thom Browne, and Gucci, including her signature hats. Artworks by Robert Rauschenberg, Ed Ruscha, and Jack Nicholson are also featured, as well as furniture from Keaton's Sullivan Canyon home, like Monterey-style settees, neckties, and jewelry, plus her own photographs and collages. Dorrie Hall, one of Keaton's three younger siblings, wrote in the catalogue foreword that her sister possessed a rare ability to maintain a singular point of view across disciplines. Hall recalled Keaton's thoughtful suggestions for improving her own home, such as repositioning a chair or rehung painting, which always transformed the space. The sales highlight Keaton's taste in design and fashion, curated with restraint and meaning.