Audrey Hepburn during the Basal Metabolism dance sequence of the 1957 Paramount production Funny Face, Paris, circa 1956

Details

FUNNY FACE, 1957
BILL AVERY (1917-2002)
Audrey Hepburn during the Basal Metabolism dance sequence of the 1957 Paramount production Funny Face, Paris, circa 1956
four gelatin silver contact prints
each with markings in red crayon
each sheet: 2 ½ x 2 ½ in. (6.4 x 6.4 cm.)
(4)

Special notice

These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

Brought to you by

Adrian Hume-Sayer

ahume-sayer@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2696

Lot Essay

In preparation for Funny Face, Audrey went back to the barre for two months of ballet lessons in Paris. In An Elegant Spirit, son Sean Hepburn Ferrer muses what a joy it must have been ...to be able to reconnect with her first love - dancing! The choreography was arranged by Eugene Loring and Fred Astaire. Screenwriter, Leonard Gershe told biographer, Barry Paris I never saw anyone work so hard. She was tireless in learning both the songs and the dances. This sequence of iconic shots by stills photographer, Bill Avery, was taken during the Basal Metabolism dance routine, an interpretive avant-garde number performed solo by Hepburn in a smoky beatnik jazz cafe in head to toe black, save for white socks to highlight her dancing feet. In Funny Face, Astaire noted, she took of on a dance whirlwind that had been bottled up for years.

More from Audrey Hepburn: The Personal Collection

View All