Joan Didion was one of the most ground-breaking authors of the 20th century, and now her entire apartment and contents are up for auction.
Known for her cool and collected style of essay and novel writing, no one observed the American countercultural explosion and its ultimate demise like Joan Didion.
Over the course of her career, Didion published five novels, six screenplays, and many more works of nonfiction. Her most recent, South and West: From a Notebook, came out in 2017. Another collection of essays, Let Me Tell You What I Mean, was issued earlier this year.
The American author passed away in December of last year, aged 87, and now the contents of Didion’s Upper East Side apartment will be auctioned off for charity later this month.
On 16 November, Stair Galleries & Restoration Auction House is set to sell the entire contents of her apartment for charity. The auction is set to include an extensive collection of poetry books, Céline sunglasses, Le Creuset pots and pans, and art.
Items on offer include first-edition copies of her books, collections of photo books by her friend (and collaborator) Robert Mapplethorpe, as well as the work of Ernest Hemingway and George Orwell.
Her coveted art collection is also up for grabs. Work from architect Richard Serra makes an appearance, as well as paintings by Richard Diebenkorn, and photography by Patti Smith. There are also a number of portraits drawn and photographed by friends and admirers of Joan Didion, from Brigitte Lacombe and Annie Leibovitz to Les Johnson.
There are also other offerings from her apartment, such as a set of Le Creuset pans and silverware, and more personal items like a pair of Céline sunglasses, similar to the black frames worn by Joan in her much-adored campaign for the brand in the Phoebe Philo era. But perhaps the biggest item of interest would have to be her typewriter and desk upon which Joan would have written some of her iconic work.
Check out the Auction here.
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