In what can only be described as an historic night, the Marilyn Monroe “Happy Birthday Mr. President Dress” sold for a world record $4,000,000.00 hammer price at Julien’s Auctions, far exceeding its former hammer price of $1,267,000.00 at Christie’s in 1999. With premium, the final price for the dress is $4,810,000.00. This dress formerly held the world record for the most expensive personal dress at auction, and broke its own record last night in Los Angeles.
The dress was purchased by Ripley’s Believe It or Not, and a representative from the museum chain indicates the dress will be displayed for fans as part of a special exhibit about the JFK gala. View their press release on the purchase of the dress here.
“Tonight was one of the most important moments in our history as a company,” Darren Julien, president and CEO of Julien’s Auctions, said in a statement. “We were incredibly privileged to have had the opportunity to offer this amazing dress from the most legendary screen star of all time.”
I live streamed the auction for the sale of the dress, which can be viewed here.
For a closeup video of the dress on display at Julien’s check out my Instagram video here.
While it is often reported Marilyn paid $12,000.00 for the dress in 1962, she actually paid a mere $1,440.33, which also included shoes for the event!
Below are a few additional highlights from the first session of the Julien’s Marilyn Monroe auction. Two more days of auctions start today at 10:00 AM PST. Watch live via the Julien’s website at www.julienslive.com.
More results to come soon!