BUZZ BEAT MEDIA

Following its well-attended inaugural exhibition in Hong Kong in January, Julien’s Auctions, the leading Hollywood auction house, unveiled the full catalogue of its headline-making event, Property From the Playboy Archives AND The Hugh M. Hefner Foundation, and Property From The Life and Career of Marilyn Monroe,taking place from March 28 to March 30 (Thursday to Saturday) in Los Angeles live and online. 

This much anticipated three-day event will showcase over 600 historical treasures of Hugh Hefner and Marilyn Monroe and Playboy Enterprises that bring together these three iconoclasts of 20th-century America for the first time in auction history.  View some of these incredible highlights in Julien’s video here.

AUCTION HIGHLIGHTS

Playboy Enterprises Collection of Rare Fine Artwork

At the centerpiece is the Playboy Enterprises collection of rare fine artwork that has not been seen since they were displayed in the famed Playboy Mansions and international Playboy headquarters and throughout the pages of Playboy magazine issues. One of the largest collections ever assembled of the famed pin-up art legend and pioneer Alberto Vargas’ famed “Vargas Girl” pinups will be among the stellar highlights. 

Playboy’s iconic Femlin drawings and expressionist paintings by the legendary and popular American artist LeRoy Neiman are another important collection to be offered for the first time at auction and exclusively at Julien’s. In 1955, after the launch of Playboy magazine, editor/publisher Hugh Hefner commissioned LeRoy Neiman for the illustrations in his men’s magazine and created the Femlin, a sexy female gremlin wearing only opera gloves, stockings, and high heels. Each issue of Playboy featured two black and white Femlin figures in various activities of sport and leisure, as well pointed to the historical events of its time. Neiman contributed his Femlin drawings to the magazine for 50 years, which became a beloved Playboy mainstay, as well as a pop culture icon and, ironically, a symbol of women’s rights.

Artworks from Acclaimed 20^th-Century’s Artists

Iconic Memorabilia from Playboy and Hugh Hefner

Memorabilia and Ephemera from Marilyn Monroe’s Life and Career

Marilyn Monroe x Hugh Hefner

Both born in 1926, Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner gained worldwide fame together when Marilyn appeared in Hefner’s inaugural 1953 issue of Playboy. The magazine’s cover image and centerfold featuring Marilyn launched the success of Hefner’s groundbreaking men’s lifestyle magazine, which the publisher transformed into an iconic global brand. Marilyn’s appearance in Playboy instantly made her a household name and an enduring sex symbol and modern feminist icon. 

Although these two figures never intersected in reality, their legacies are inextricably linked. Both were influential symbols of the sexual revolution, and their personalities and portrayal s had a profound impact on society and the cultural landscape until today. In 1992, Hugh Hefner purchased the tomb next to Marilyn Monroe’s resting place at Westwood Village Memorial Park in Lo s Angeles, where he was laid to rest in 2017.

IMAGE DOWNLOAD: https://bit.ly/3Txmrid

********

AUCTION & US EXHIBITONS DETAILS

Julien’s Auctions

For the moments that matter.

You know that moment when the lights dim, right before your favorite band starts playing? Or that feeling right before the credits roll on a movie that changed your whole world in an instant? The air is charged with anticipation and words are never going to do it justice because you just really had to be there. 

At Julien’s, we exist to bring those moments back into your life through iconic artifacts and one-of-a-kind collections. Whether collaborating directly with artists, partnering with legendary estates, or working closely with discerning collectors, our auctions make culture pop with the promise of discovery and reconnection. From Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, and Ringo Starr to Lady Gaga, Banksy, and Kurt Cobain—from LA to the world, we are where originals find their kind.

*Cover Photo/Thumbnail Photo from Julien’s Auction