Gone With the Wind (MGM, 1939), Walter Plunkett Vintage Original Costume Sketch of Evelyn Keyes as "Suellen O'Hara"....

Description

Gone With the Wind (MGM, 1939), Walter Plunkett Vintage Original Costume Sketch of Evelyn Keyes as "Suellen O'Hara". Vintage original Gone With the Wind costume sketch accomplished in pencil, ink and gouache on 18" x 23" artist's board. Signed "Plunkett" in the lower right beneath image. Widely considered one of the finest films ever made, this stirring Civil War epic is as thrilling today as it was when it was originally released. Lushly lensed in glorious Technicolor and boasting an all-star cast that includes Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, Hattie McDaniel, Victor Jory, and Butterfly McQueen, to name just a few, the movie dominated the Academy Awards ceremony for 1939, taking home eight Oscars, including Best Actress (Leigh), Best Supporting Actress (McDaniel), Best Director (Victor Fleming), Best Writing, Screenplay (Sidney Howard), and, of course, Best Picture. Original production material from this all-time favorite film is incredibly sought after, especially in the case of Walter Plunkett costume sketches, as the majority that come to market tend to be his later re-creations created for exhibition and sale, ca. 1960s, with this being a rare, 1939 dye-in-the-wool original. Worn by Evelyn Keyes as "Suellen O'Hara" preparing for and at the Ball, in the variation depicted to right of the main sketched design. Marked within the verso Selznick Studio costumer's form inkstamp "For: Suellen/ Picture No. #28-9/ Change No. #2/ Set No. #2". Other verso production stamps read "OK to start/ OK To Buy" with red ink "L" approval, dated 1/11. Finally, a pencil notation states "28-9-W-501". Recto exhibits mild to moderate soiling and foxing stains around unpainted margins, and moderate even age toning, with 0.5" surface paper loss to lower left corner. Watercolor in the dress has faded to yellow, from presumed pink original, as stated in descriptive caption snipe below sketch area, "SUELLEN Your pink gown is lovely and suitable to your complexion" p. 66./ "foolish little lace parasols" p. 81". Upper left corner retains affixed pink and crème fabric samples; verso bears tape staining and surface paper loss inside perimeter, not affecting artwork. Comes with a COA from Heritage Auctions.

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