Important Collectors' Wristwatches, P...

New York, Jun 11, 2009

LOT 412

Don Quixote Bronze A bronze figure of Don Quixote featured in the film The Thomas Crown Affair and previously owned by Steve McQueen. Accompanied by a letter from Jimmy Brucker confirming authenticity To be sold without reserve

USD 30,000 - 40,000

EUR 23,000 - 30,000 / CHF 35,000 - 45,000

Sold: USD 18,000

In very good condition


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Notes

The Thomas Crown Affair is a 1968 movie starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway. It was nominated for two Academy Awards and a remake was released in 1999 starring Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo (in the remake, Faye Dunaway also appears as Thomas Crown's therapist). Following the wrapping of the filming of the movie, Steve McQueen received the bronze statute of Don Quixote that was prominently displayed in Thomas Crown?s office as a prop. McQueen maintained a suite at the Beverly Hills Hotel and one of the few personal belongings that he kept in the suite was this bronze statute. The Don Quixote bronze had a special meaning to him, not simply because it reminded him of the filming of the movie, but as McQueen explained to Jimmy Brucker, it was him, "the Actor." Don Quixote was a common man who unknowingly created a hero persona amongst his public. It is not easy living up to a public persona and McQueen encountered this every day of his life. Jimmy Brucker visited McQueen?s suite at the Beverly Hills Hotel and once he saw the Don Quixote bronze, being a collector of bronze statutes, he told McQueen that he had to have it. After some heavy negotiation and Brucker having to repeatedly sweeten the deal by adding more memorabilia that McQueen wanted, the Don Quixote bronze was his. Jimmy Brucker has kept the bronze for over twenty years in his personal collection. The bronze is signed at the base ?Machault Fils? and stands 34 inches tall.