Dorothy's Famed Ruby Slippers Set an Auction Record: $28 Million
Updated: 3 days ago
The fourth (and final) pair of sequined shoes designed by Adrian are now the most expensive piece of entertainment memorabilia ever sold.
For fans of The Wizard of Oz, entertainment memorabilia or Hollywood history in general, the latest auction confirms that iconic props aren't only beloved; some also remain highly valuable — record-setting, even.
The fourth and final pair of ruby slippers known to exist went up for auction at Dallas-based Heritage Auctions on Saturday, Dec. 7th, selling for an astounding $28 million — or $32.5 million with the buyer's premium, or commission paid by the purchaser, added to the sale. That's an all-time record for entertainment memorabilia.
Joe Maddalena, Executive Vice President of Heritage Auctions, released a statement after the sale.“There is simply no comparison between Judy Garland’s Ruby Slippers and any other piece of Hollywood memorabilia,” he said. “The breathtaking result reflects just how important movies and movie memorabilia are to our culture and to collectors. It’s been a privilege for all of us at Heritage to be a part of the slippers’ epic journey over the rainbow and off to a new home.”
This pair had gone missing after being stolen in 2005 while on loan to the Judy Garland Museum, the restored home of the iconic star, located in Grand Rapids, Minn. The theft went unsolved for many years, but in 2018, a sting operation recovered the shoes; in 2023, a local Grand Rapids resident, Terry Martin, pleaded guilty to the crime.
Of the remaining three pairs, two are displayed at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., and at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in L.A.; a third pair resides in a private collection.
Other items that achieved impressive prices during the same auction (all prices here include the buyer's premium): the witch's hat worn by Margaret Hamilton in The Wizard of Oz, sold for $2.93 million; a screen-matched wooden box containing two prop "concentration gas bombs" from 1933's King Kong, sold for $187,500; and a pair of Edith Head sketches highlighting iconic costumes — the two-tone dress worn by Grace Kelly in her entrance scene in 1954's Rear Window and the gray suit worn by Kim Novak in 1958's Vertigo — which sold for $13,750 each.
Each of these, of course, was eclipsed by the sale of the ruby slippers. Here's a look at the highlights from the auction moment; the gentleman seen here is Heritage auctioneer Mike Sadler:
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