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The 'Best Oscar Picture' Ever Taken Is For Sale
"She isn't sure quite who she is any more. I waited for her to look away from the camera, and I got the shot..."
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Photo by Terry O'Neill (courtesy of Sotheby's/eBay)
"I look at this picture often, and I'm still so proud of it. It's still the best Oscar picture ever taken. And modern photographers should take that as a challenge." This is what photographer Terry O'Neill said just a few years ago, about his famous photo of Faye Dunaway (before the two married... and divorced). He got the shot the morning after her Network win at the Academy Awards in 1977, sitting by the pool of the Beverly Hills Hotel, breakfast an afterthought, newspapers strewn about at her feet.
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Earlier this year, O'Neill was asked about the photo again, noting the real stories and photos don't happen in the press room during awards shows—"the real story is the next day, when they realize suddenly they’re getting all these offers to do films, their value goes from $100,000 to $10 million, and they’re just sort of stunned. I wanted to capture that."
The reason this photo is coming up again, post-Oscars season at that, is because Sotheby's has just teamed up with eBay to put some items on the block, and one of them is a mural-sized print of this photograph. It's unclear who the print, which measures in at about 55" by 56" belongs to, but it's signed and editioned 14/50. It's expected to get around $15,000.
Here's Dunaway winning her award in 1977:
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