By now everyone must have heard about the Timeless Audrey exhibit. If you haven't, I shall refresh your memory: it's a traveling exhibit of memorabilia and personal items from Audrey Hepburn's public and private life, put together in an intimate, open show where you're close enough to actually touch certain items if you are so inclined. In fact, Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund executive director Ellen Erwin once said that people were a little too free to touch things -- women would walk off with Audrey's scarves! Anyway, this exhibit was around in New Orleans for a while, then toured Japan extensively for two years. It's being refurbished right now and is set to tour Europe next year, and who knows where it will go next?
But for now, Grace Kelly seems set to step in and fill that gap that the Timeless Audrey exhibit is leaving in its absence. To commemorate the 25 year anniversary of Princess Grace's untimely death, her family is putting together a remarkably similar concept called The Grace Kelly Years. Like Timeless Audrey, The Grace Kelly Years will feature a timeline of Grace's life and many artifacts from her short film career and private life as Princess of Monaco. The exhibit is set to open on July 12 in Monaco, and will then travel to New York in September, where two of Grace's dresses will be sold at auction. The interesting thing (besides the whole similar exhibit bit) is that her dresses will also be sold to benefit the charity of Grace's choice, and is expected to fetch more than the record-breaking amount that Audrey's black column dress from Breakfast at Tiffany's caught at auction last December. It's not recorded as to who gave that estimate, or if both dresses are being sold together or separately, or even where the dresses will be auctioned at, but we'll see if Grace can indeed knock Audrey out of her record-breaking spot. You can read more about Les Annees Grace Kelly (The Grace Kelly Years) here.
Late last year the official site of the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund said that the European leg of the Timeless Audrey Exhibit should be launching sometime in 2007. I wrote Ellen Erwin, executive director of the Children's Fund, to ask if any tour dates had been set as of yet for the tour. She was kind enough to write back, and it looks as if the tour will be delayed a bit. After traveling Japan for two years, the wall and platform props that are an integral part of the exhibit need to be refurbished, so it looks like 2008-2009 for the European tour. This just means more time to save money and plan for an Audrey-centered trip for some of us. ;) We'll have to wait a bit longer to see the exhibit, but it'll look sparkling and brand-new, which is worth waiting for.
In other news, Natalie Portman is again drawing comparisons to Audrey Hepburn. This time it's for the US premiere of Natalie's latest film, Paris, je t'aime. She was sporting a cute black and white mod dress and a very Audrey updo, as you can see in the picture to the right. What do you think?
By now everyone must have heard about the Timeless Audrey exhibit. If you haven't, I shall refresh your memory: it's a traveling exhibit of memorabilia and personal items from Audrey Hepburn's public and private life, put together in an intimate, open show where you're close enough to actually touch certain items if you are so inclined. In fact, Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund executive director Ellen Erwin once said that people were a little too free to touch things -- women would walk off with Audrey's scarves! Anyway, this exhibit was around in New Orleans for a while, then toured Japan extensively for two years. It's being refurbished right now and is set to tour Europe next year, and who knows where it will go next?
But for now, Grace Kelly seems set to step in and fill that gap that the Timeless Audrey exhibit is leaving in its absence. To commemorate the 25 year anniversary of Princess Grace's untimely death, her family is putting together a remarkably similar concept called The Grace Kelly Years. Like Timeless Audrey, The Grace Kelly Years will feature a timeline of Grace's life and many artifacts from her short film career and private life as Princess of Monaco. The exhibit is set to open on July 12 in Monaco, and will then travel to New York in September, where two of Grace's dresses will be sold at auction. The interesting thing (besides the whole similar exhibit bit) is that her dresses will also be sold to benefit the charity of Grace's choice, and is expected to fetch more than the record-breaking amount that Audrey's black column dress from Breakfast at Tiffany's caught at auction last December. It's not recorded as to who gave that estimate, or if both dresses are being sold together or separately, or even where the dresses will be auctioned at, but we'll see if Grace can indeed knock Audrey out of her record-breaking spot. You can read more about Les Annees Grace Kelly (The Grace Kelly Years) here.
