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The Golden Age of Hollywood
Lot 230W
A Spencer Tracy rocking chair given to him by Katharine Hepburn
14 May 2019, 13:00 PDT
Los AngelesSold for US$13,825 inc. premium
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A Spencer Tracy rocking chair given to him by Katharine Hepburn
Tufted black horsehair rocking chair with seat cushion. As meaningful a piece of Katharine Hepburn/Spencer Tracy memorabilia as you are likely to find, this chair was personally picked out by Hepburn for Tracy, as she felt the rocking would accommodate his nervousness. In her autobiography, Hepburn writes to Tracy of finally being able to buy the chair after having to haggle with the original owner: "I told [the owner] how you needed it to sit in and to rock in. So he finally let me have it. For quite a lot. He didn't lose. Nor did I. Nor did you. That was your seat in the corner." Her memories of Tracy rocking in that chair in her California home were some of her fondest. After Tracy died in 1967, Hepburn kept the chair and used it often to sit and study scripts. Accompanied by a vintage photo of Hepburn sitting in the chair.
Provenance: Property from the Estate of Katharine Hepburn, Sotheby's, New York, June 10 & 11, 2004, Lot 453.
29 x 42 x 32 in.
Provenance: Property from the Estate of Katharine Hepburn, Sotheby's, New York, June 10 & 11, 2004, Lot 453.
29 x 42 x 32 in.




















