Prior to 1943, winners of the best supporting actor category received awards
mounted on plaques.
The identities of the main buyers at the auction were not revealed. The $3
million generated by the auction was the most ever made for a sale by bid of
Oscars, and it was the most statuettes ever put up for auction in a single
event, said Laura Yntema, spokeswoman for the auction house. The auction
house had anticipated the sale would bring in $2 million.
The auction for the 15 statuettes went live online in mid-February and the
sale ended on Tuesday. Bidding continued on Sunday, when the 84th annual
Academy Awards were held and French romantic comedy “The Artist”
won the top prize of best picture.
Oscars are increasingly rare finds at auction. The Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences introduced an agreement in 1950 that banned winners from
selling their Oscars to anyone but the Academy for the nominal sum of $1.
The best picture Oscar for the 1939 film “Gone With the Wind” was
sold to singer Michael Jackson in 1999 for a record $1.54 million.
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