The Academy Awards and Oscars… go to the highest bidder!!!
Published on March 29th, 2025 at 7:00 AM PDT
One of Hollywood’s most coveted collectibles is the open market… an Oscar statue from the golden age of Hollywood.
The Oscars for Best Cinematography at the 1930 Academy Awards are auctioned at RR auctions…and this Oscar goes to the highest bidder.
The golden statue was presented to Clyde de Vinna for his work in the 1928 film “The White Shadow of the South Seas.”
The film starring Monte Bleu and Raquel Torres was groundbreaking…it was MGM’s first sounding film – theatres were able to hear the roar of the MGM lion for the first time – and it was filmed in a Tahiti location.
It is very rare to bring Oscars to the market… In 1951, the academy created rules that prevented Oscar winners from selling statues without first returning to the academy for a dollar, but this Oscar gets a pass as it only applies to statues awarded after 1950.
The Oscar was announced at the 2nd Annual Academy Awards held at the fashionable Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on April 3, 1930…the first ceremony to be broadcast on the radio as a public event.
The award plaque has information engraved on the award… The base reads “Academy of the Arts of Motion Picture First Word 1929.”
Behind the award is a golden disc, “Ampus, the first Academy Award in 1929 gave Clyde de Vinna a notable achievement in cinematography of the White Shadow of the South Sea.” ”
RR Auction shows that the seller is a private collector who wants to remain anonymous… The bids are over $70,000, and the auction house estimates that the winning bid will exceed $150,000.
Bids will end on April 9th.
