IN 1946, DESIGNER LOUIS RÉARD’S TWO-PIECE SWIMSUIT DEBUTED IN PARIS. A LOOK AT RELATED ITEMS FROM THE HERITAGE ARCHIVES
GIL ELVGREN’s oil on canvas Turquoise Bikini, completed for a Simoniz advertisement, late 1950s or early 1960s, sold for $71,700 at a February 2011 Heritage auction. The piece measures 20 by 38¼ inches.
AN ORIGINAL POSTER for 1962’s Dr. No, the first film in the James Bond series, sold for $22,705 at an April 20188 auction. The movie starred Sean Connery and Ursula Andress.
LeROY NEIMAN’s oil on Masonite Blonde Pin-Up in White Bikini, done for Playboy magazine in 1964, sold for $112,500 at a May 2014 Heritage auction. The piece, measuring 30 by 22½ inches, once was held by Dyansen Gallery in San Francisco.
CARRIE FISHER’s dessert bikini featured in 1983’s Star Wars: Return of the Jedi sold for $96,000 at a September 2015 Heritage auction. The costume is among the most memorable in the Star Wars franchise.
A MARILYN MONROE-signed copy of a Modern Photography cover from 1954 realized $3,250 at a March 2012 Heritage auction. The handwritten note reads: “To Roy Green / Love & Kisses / Marilyn Monroe.”
PETER DRIBEN’s Pin-Up in a Bikini for Beauty Parade magazine (October 1947) sold for $6,250 at an October 2017 Heritage auction. The oil on board measures 34 x 25 in.
This article appears in the June 2021 edition of The Intelligent Collector magazine.