Elizabeth Taylor's Frans Hals painting doubles estimate with $2.1m Christie's sale

Elizabeth Taylor had a large art collection, but only one Old Master: a portrait painting by Frans Hals

Everything associated with Elizabeth Taylor is desirable to collectors. Her jewellery collection broke every record in the book at Christie's and her other costumes and memorabilia have also fetched sky-high prices.

Taylor also owned an impressive art collection - a natural move for the wealthy daughter of an art dealer - and her collection is to be sold at Christie's in two weeks' time.

All of it, that is, bar one painting. The vast majority of Taylor's collection was impressionist and modern art, and thirty-eight paintings from it will be offered shortly. These include a work by Van Gogh, as we reported.

There was just one Old Master, which Christie's sold yesterday.

Portrait of a Man, Half-Length, in a Black Coat by Frans Hals

This was a painting by the 17th century Dutch master Frans Hals: Portrait of a Gentleman, Half-Length, in a Black Coat. The portrait used to hang over the fireplace in Elizabeth Taylor's Bel Air home.

There had been some doubt as to whether the work was genuine or not, until it was emphatically authenticated by Pieter Biesboer, retired curator of Old Master paintings at the Frans Hals Museum in Holland.

Listed at $700,000-$1m, the work proved highly covetable to collectors, and eventually sold for $2.1m in New York.

We've put together a list of our top five Elizabeth Taylor collectibles, which her fans will enjoy. Those wishing they could own a piece of Taylor, but put off by seven-figure price tags may also like to know that we're currently offering her hair, with pieces for sale for as little as £49.95.

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Images: Christie's