More than 300 artifacts from the archive of the legendary actor Dennis Hopper are set to go to auction next month, including an extremely rare Polaroid photo of the late star that was taken by Andy Warhol.
The items are going on the block as part of the Julien’s Auctions and TCM Present: Legends: Hollywood and Royalty event. The event takes place live on September 6, 7 and 8, both in person in Beverly Hills and online.
The subset of treasures belonging to or related to Hopper also includes a striking expressionistic painting of the iconic jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, which was painted by Hopper’s good friend James Dean, with whom he costarred in the 1955 classic Rebel Without A Cause.
The collection was first unveiled at Hopper’s beloved El Cortez Theatre in Taos, New Mexico, where he was eventually laid to rest.
He bought the theater in the 1960s and used it as his home, as well as a screening room and an art studio. It was there that he would meet artists including Bob Dylan, the choreographer and dancer Martha Graham and his future Easy Rider costar Jack Nicholson, who earned a supporting actor Oscar nod for the breakout role.
On the block: More than 300 of Dennis Hopper’s possessions are going up on auction at the Julien’s Auctions and TCM Present: Legends: Hollywood and Royalty on September 6–8; seen in 2009 in Las Vegas
Iconic: Among the items is a Polaroid photo of the actor taken — and signed — by Andy Warhol
His John Hancock: The photo is particularly rare because it features Warhol’s signature, unlike many other photos he took of Hopper
Hopper’s Polaroid potrait by Warhol is particularly rare. Although he was known to have been photographed by the iconic artist, few of them have survived, and it is even rarer for Warhol to have autographed it, as he did on the bottom of the photo in thick black ink.
The actor is dressed in Western garb, and he sports some gray hair at his temples, suggesting that it may have been taken sometime in the late 1970s or 1980s.
Adding to the intrigue is the word ‘Help!’ scrawled in the top-left margin, which appears to have been added by Hopper himself.
The photo is expected to sell for around $20,000–30,000.
The auction traces Hopper’s life an connections from his earliest days in Hollywood, when he played supporting roles in hit films including Giant and Gunfight At The O.K. Corral, through his subsequent years working in television, his return to feature films in the 1960s, including his directorial debut Easy Rider.
After his second directorial effort, The Last Movie (1971), baffled critics and bombed at the box office — before being reevaluated as a cult classic — he continued to work sporadically through the 1970s and ’80s, before his career was revitalized by his turn as a chilling villain in David Lynch’s surreal neo-noir film Blue Velvet (1986).
Hopper followed that up with Hoosiers, which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and he continued his commercial ascendance by playing the villain in the Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock–starring Speed (1994).
He continued to work steadily in film and television until his death in 2010 at the age of 74 from prostate cancer.
Threads: A tuxedo that Hopper wore to the Oscars when Easy Rider was nominated for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor is included. He directed the 1969 film, starred in it with Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson, and co-wrote it with Fonda and Terry Southern
Too cool: Hopper’s friend James Dean also painted a photo of Miles Davis that’s included
Signed: A closeup of Dean’s signature, which appears to be dated to 1954, a year before his death
Late friend: Hopper also had a print of Dean at the grave of an ancestor
In 2018, he was featured in a posthumous performance originally filmed in the 1970s for the Orson Welles–directed film The Other Side Of The Wind, which had languished for decades in an unfinished state before it was finally edited and the rights were sold to Netflix.
Among the most high-profile items in the auction is the expressionist painting of Miles Davis made by Hopper’s friend James Dean. It shows the trumpeter leaning back in his most iconic pose while wearing a red T-shirt.
His shadow is seen looming over him in the background, and abstract trumpet bells pop out on the sides of the painting.
Intriguingly, Dean painted Davis in the kind of casual outfit he became known for wearing in the late 1960s, even though the East Of Eden actor died in a devastating car crash in 1955, when he was just 24 years old.
Dean is also represented in a photo of himself near the grave of an older relative, Cal Dean. The picture, taken by Dennis Stock, ironically shows Dean standing not far from where his own grave would be place.
Hopper also had artwork from major 20th century artists Ed Ruscha and Roy Lichtenstein that are included in auction, and there’s what appears to be a water color portrait of an unidentified face that was painted and signed by the actor himself.
Several items of Hopper’s clothing are included in the Julien’s auction, including a tuxedo jacket that Hopper wore to the Academy Awards when he was nominated with Terry Southern and his costar Peter Fonda for Best Original Screenplay.
There also a thick black double-breasted coat with velvet lapels and sleeve cuffs.
Another side of the artist: Hopper was also a painter, and a watercolor of a person’s face is included
His name: A closeup of Hopper’s signature
Back in black: There also a thick black double-breasted coat with velvet lapels and sleeve cuffs as part of his Western clothing
Delicate: Closeups detail the delicate paisley pattern on the silky lining, including an odd label stitched in that reads ‘Paisley’
Fancy: It also has a label indicating that the jacket is from Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors. The tailor shop was run by Nudie Cohn, who is credited with creating the eye-catching Western-style suits that came to be known as Nudie Suits
These boots were made for walking: Hopper’s opulent brown leather cowboy boots are also up for auction
Classy couture: A gray pinstripe Western suit is represented
Details: Shown here in closeups of its lining and Lasso labels
Writer: One of the actor and filmmaker’s typewriters, a Remington, is featured in the auction, along with ribbons of ink
Correspondence: His letters to luminaries including Miles Davis, his friend and Easy Rider costar Peter Fonda and Joe DiMaggio are part of the collection
Closeups detail the delicate paisley pattern on the silky lining — including an odd label stitched in that reads ‘Paisley’ — as well as a label indicating that the jacket is from Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors.
The tailor shop was run by Nudie Cohn, who is credited with creating the eye-catching Western-style suits that came to be known as Nudie Suits.
Hopper’s opulent brown leather cowboy boots are also up for auction, and a gray pinstripe Western suit is represented, shown here in closeups of its lining and Lasso labels.
One of the actor and filmmaker’s typewriters, a Remington, is featured in the auction, along with letters he wrote to era-influencing artists including Davis and his friend Fonda, as well as Joe DiMaggio.
Among his collection is a limited edition of the acclaimed photography book Some Los Angeles Apartments by the LA-based artist and photographer Ed Ruscha, which is addressed to Hopper and his first wife Brooke Hayward — to whom he was married from 1961 to 1969 — and dated to December 1965.
Several of Hopper’s own photos, including images taken at protests in the 1960s, are also up for auction.
One photo shows a man banging on a conga while on a farm surrounded by pigs and cows, while another shows a young girl holding a sign reading, ‘War is not healthy for children and other living things.’
One book or letter, signed by Hopper, reads, ‘Man can be destroyed but never defeated.’
Famous pals: Hopper was friends with the artist Ed Ruscha, and he had a limited-edition signed copy of Ruscha’s photography book Some Los Angeles Apartments from 1965
A great eye: Hopper’s photographs are also represented, including many of protest scenes
Clever: One picture shows a young girl holding a sign reading, ‘War is not healthy for children and other living things’
Words of wisdom: One book or letter, signed by Hopper, reads, ‘Man can be destroyed but never defeated.’
Chic: There’s also a striking square-shaped set of sunglasses that presumably were worn by Hopper, along with a colorful book of matches
Gorgeous: Among Hopper’s honors is a glass award presented to him in Paris
Honored: It’s unclear what the honor is for, but it was engraved with ‘Académie du Cinéma’ and dated to 1956 in Paris
Through his eyes: Fittingly, the filmmaker has a camera included in the auction
Woman in white? There are also white garments belonging to a woman, which may be from his eight-day marriage to Michelle Phillips from The Mamas and the Papas
Coming soon: Hopper’s items will go up for auction from September 6–8, both in person in Beverly Hills and online at Julien’s Auctions
There’s also a striking square-shaped set of sunglasses that presumably were worn by Hopper, along with a colorful book of matches.
Fittingly, the filmmaker has a camera included in the auction.
There are also white garments belonging to a woman, which may be from his eight-day marriage to Michelle Phillips from The Mamas and the Papas.
Hopper’s items will go up for auction from September 6–8, both in person in Beverly Hills and online at Julien’s Auctions.
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