Furs, diamonds and a lipstick message on the mirror: Photographer granted unprecedented access to Elizabeth Taylor's Bel Air home as she lay on her death bed - but never got to meet the screen icon
- Renowned documentary photographer Catherine Opie shot Elizabeth Taylor's home January-June 2011
- The women never met as Opie wanted to create a portrait purely documenting Taylor's private stage
- In March 2011 Taylor was hospitalized and died. Opie continued the project with renewed poignancy
- Her images show countless furs, paintings, letters, and diamonds as Christie's came to take them away
- All images © Catherine Opie. Courtesy Regen Projects, Los Angeles, and Lehmann Maupin, New York & Hong Kong
Hers was one of the most photographed faces in history.
An
electrifying performer, colorful character and glittering clothes
horse, Elizabeth Taylor was the darling of every camera lens.
And
yet, she is notably absent from this incisive portrait - her last ever -
by renowned documentary photographer Catherine Opie.
Between
January and June 2011, Opie was granted unprecedented access to
Taylor's home at 700 Nimes Road in Bel Air to take her photograph after
getting in touch via their mutual accountant. But the women never met.
Instead,
as Taylor lay in her bed upstairs, Opie captured the furs, glittering
ornaments, Oscars, Chanel shoes, photographs, letters, priceless
artworks, and plush lilac carpets that acted as Taylor's private stage.
Fang and Chanel: A cat climbs over a
row of identical Chanel shoes inside Elizabeth Taylor's Bel Air home. It
is one of 129 images taken by Catherine Opie shortly before and after
Taylor's death. The series, which does not feature Taylor herself,
offers a poignant image of the star
The Quest for Japanese Beef: Diamonds, pearls, stones, and crystals were part of the furniture of Taylor's private stage
Top: AIDS
Activist. Right: The Closet #9. Opie was granted an all-access pass to
Taylor's home in January 2011 after getting in touch via their mutual
accountant. She never met Taylor, who resided upstairs until her
unexpected death on March 23, 2011
One
artwork, a pair of lips, is framed by large scrawled writing: 'To
Elizabeth, a big kiss, Andy Warhol'. A child's drawing on a piece of
paper lies on a bedside table, signed off, 'from your goddaughter Paris
Jackson'. Handbags are stacked in color order - fire engine red, gold,
black, purple, teal, white. Then the clothes: pink and gold silk
kaftans, a cupboard-full of aviator jackets, stacks of white lace, an
entire row of multi-colored coats with fur cuffs.
Bizarrely,
the boudoir mirror of the screen icon has The Quest for Japanese Beef
scrawled in lipstick onto it, although it is not clear what the Oscar
winning star of Cleopatra could have meant by this.
Six weeks into the project, Taylor was hospitalized, and on March 23, 2011, she died.
The
project continued, now with a bleak poignancy. Opie was even there the
day Christie's arrived to remove her $183.5 million worth of diamonds
for auction.
Writing
in a soon-to-be-released book of the photographs, titled 700 Nimes
Road, Opie explains: 'Most of the images are still lifes as Ms. Taylor
left them. There are crystals, Buddha figurines, books on 'how to
attract angels', and countless snapshots of Richard Burton, her
twice-married husband.
'However, photographs of her jewelry inevitably had to be staged in her absence.
The Shoe Closet: As Opie writes in her
recently-released art book, Taylor was the epitome of femininity and
glamour, as her home reflected
Living room North View: Taylor always
said 'a big girl needs big diamonds'. And her taste in art was no less
refined. Priceless artworks by artists including Vincent Van Gogh (top
center) adorned the walls of her living room in carved frames, with
sculptures lining the table
Krupp Diamond: This is one of Taylor's
many engagement rings, captured by Opie as it was packaged up by
Christie's to be auctioned
'Her
legendary jewels sparkling in the sun were captured on their final day
at 700 Nimes Road, and are represented at both the beginning and end of
the book.
'One of the last images made is of the jewelry in a paper bag the day Christie’s packed everything up for auction.
'On that last day, we put the jewels out in the sun to mark a moment of silence for her beloved and monumental collections.
'As an artist who makes images, I am very aware of what it means to bear witness and document a rapidly changing world.
'Elizabeth Taylor’s home, her interior world, is an homage to the incredible life she shared with both family and friends.'
The
fact that Opie was even allowed in, let alone to photograph Taylor's
most precious and intimate possessions, was virtually unheard of.
MINE! The fact that Opie was even
allowed in, let alone to photograph Taylor's most precious and intimate
possessions, was unheard of
Kitchen table: Opie describes how she
would dine in the kitchen every day with Taylor's staff, who had the
atmosphere of a family
Andy Warhol to Elizabeth (Self-Portrait Artist): 700 Nimes Road by Catherine Opie was released on September 1, 2015
However,
in hindsight her accountant Tim Mendelson - who brokered the project -
theorizes that Taylor knew this portrait would be her last.
He
is quoted in the book: 'Elizabeth was so public in the world, but she
was always so private in her home. She didn’t ever want photographs to
be done there. She was brought up in MGM. You had to have a separate
life and she understood the importance of that.
'Normally she wouldn’t have done this. But in hindsight it was pretty obvious she was close to the end of her life.
'We didn’t want to believe it at the time. Nobody did. She was such a survivor and had pulled through so many times.
'But
she must have understood the importance of what Cathy wanted to do.
Thank goodness she was able to capture it all, at least before it all
changed.'
