Orson Welles' CITIZEN KANE Oscar Moves Closer to Auction Block...
May 12th, 2004
According to a ruling handed down recently, Orson Welles' daughter has unrestricted property rights of the original Oscar, which she may dispose of however she sees fit Orson Her intent is to auction her father's 1942 "Citizen Kane" Oscar statuette. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which adamantly opposes the sale of any Oscar, said it will appeal.
Beatrice Welles hopes to sell the Oscar in order to fund her animal-rescue operations. The statuette has been appraised at $500,000-$1 million. The case is complicated by the fact that Beatrice Welles requested and received a replacement Oscar in 1988 because it appeared that the original had been lost. At the time, she agreed to the Academy's standard ownership terms, including its right of first refusal to buy back the statuette for $1. The original surfaced in 1994, and Beatrice Welles was able to get it back through a court order.
When she moved to auction the original last year, the Academy opposed the sale, and it was canceled. The Academy argued that the 1988 agreement prohibited her from selling both the original and duplicate Oscar. Beatrice Welles said she thought the contract covered only the duplicate, which she still has.
[Source: Reuters/Hollywood Reporter]
Beatrice Welles hopes to sell the Oscar in order to fund her animal-rescue operations. The statuette has been appraised at $500,000-$1 million. The case is complicated by the fact that Beatrice Welles requested and received a replacement Oscar in 1988 because it appeared that the original had been lost. At the time, she agreed to the Academy's standard ownership terms, including its right of first refusal to buy back the statuette for $1. The original surfaced in 1994, and Beatrice Welles was able to get it back through a court order.
When she moved to auction the original last year, the Academy opposed the sale, and it was canceled. The Academy argued that the 1988 agreement prohibited her from selling both the original and duplicate Oscar. Beatrice Welles said she thought the contract covered only the duplicate, which she still has.
[Source: Reuters/Hollywood Reporter]
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