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R/£ Barbra auctions off her missing 'A'
October 14, 2009 Edition 1
BEVERLY HILLS: Barbra Streisand is letting go of her "a" again. Everyone knows her name is Barbra, but not everyone knows the singer, actress and movie director dropped the letter "a" from her name Barbara more than four decades ago, or that she kept a gold painted wooden "a" in her kitchen for years as a memento of the name change.
That ornamental "a", with hundreds of Streisand's items of furniture, art, clothes and other possessions, will go on sale on October 17-18 in a Beverly Hills charity auction.
The auction comes as the 67-year-old Streisand's latest album, Love Is the Answer, has landed her back at No 1 on the US pop chart, making her the first artist to top the chart in five consecutive decades.
Streisand is selling a painting believed to be from Dutch artist Kees van Dongen worth up to $200 000 (R1.4 million), along with a chipped antique phonograph, shoes, books and a dental cabinet with more than a dozen slim drawers originally used for tools, that Streisand bought at age 18 for her jewellery.
"A lot of these items are very difficult for her to part with," said Darren Julien, the auctioneer handling the sale. "Like the dental cabinet - it was her first purchase."
Julien said Streisand was selling the items, which span everything from art nouveau pieces to American Indian baskets and Georgian furniture to Americana knickknacks, because they did not fit with the redesign of her Malibu home.
Together, the items are worth up to $600 000, but they are expected to sell for more.
Known for her liberal activism, Streisand is selling a piano that brings together her musical career and her passion for Democratic politics. It comes with a picture of her sitting at the keys, with portraits of herself with US President Barack Obama and former president Bill Clinton placed behind her.
All proceeds from the sale will go to The Streisand Foundation, which distributes funds to several causes.
There are also objects that show Streisand's creativity as an interior designer, including a gothic-style table with carved sphinxes that she had planned to turn into a vanity sink, before changing her mind. - Reuters
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