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An Ava Gardner gown from One Touch of Venus image 1
An Ava Gardner gown from One Touch of Venus image 2
Lot 596

An Ava Gardner gown from One Touch of Venus

30 November 2016, 12:00 EST
New York

US$15,000 - US$25,000

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An Ava Gardner gown from One Touch of Venus

Universal, 1948. Black velvet off-the-shoulder evening gown lined in black silk, with a gathering of velvet at the central neckline, light boning at the bodice, and draping velvet around the back shoulders, with zipper, hook-and-eye, and snap closures down the back bodice, and a slit down the back bottom of the gown which is covered with a panel of black velvet, bearing an interior cream-colored label inscribed, "Ava Gardner," in purple ink. Gardner is stunning and at the height of her beauty in this film, which portrayed her as a "goddess," something she scoffed at. "I've always felt a prisoner of my image," she states in her autobiography. Orry-Kelly designed this gown, as well as the famous "toga" gown, both of which showed off Gardner's curves and epitomize the glamor of the 1940s, all of which helped to make this film, which co-starred Robert Walker, popular with audiences. This is the first time this wonderful piece has been offered to the collecting market.

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