Rago Auctions

Born in Morristown, New Jersey, Helen Woodhull had a prolific career that spanned over 30 years. A passion for travel ignited a love of history that would go on to inform her design aesthetic. She opened her first store, The Leogryph, in 1965 where she fashioned unique pieces of jewelry that incorporated historical items such as Greek and Roman intaglios, Egyptian amulets, and Chinese jade. Quickly finding success with her jewelry, Woodhull closed her store in 1968 to design jewelry exclusively for Georg Jensen which she did until 1974 when the company was sold. Woodhull was one of only three emerging designers (Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co., and Aldo Cipullo for Cartier were the others) that worked under their own name in the 1960s. Her greatest success was her ability to join the past and the present in modern designs that were widely beloved. 

Woodhull continued to design for important houses, such as Peacock, Caldwell, and Gump. Missing the intimacy owning her own studio provided, Woodhull also opened another atelier in New York City, relocating storefronts once in 1988, until her eventual retirement in 1994. After her passing in 2005, her designs were sold exclusively at James Robinson, Inc. 

The present lot comes from the esteemed collection of Richard and Ellen Levine. Ellen Levine made her way to the top of the magazine publishing industry, becoming the first female editor in chief for Good Housekeeping and helping to found O, The Oprah Magazine, before taking a role as the editorial director of Hearst Magazines. Levine recognized her audience and was an outspoken advocate for women’s health. Further, Levine evoked positive change when she was appointed to the President’s commission on pornography in 1985 and in 1999, she was honored for a special report she wrote on colon cancer. 

Her husband, Richard Levine was a top OBGYN in New York and renowned in his field for innovative and minimally invasive surgical techniques. He was a mentor and professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University teaching generations of doctors to provide thoughtful and caring treatments. Together, the two were a New York City power couple. 

The jewelry offered here reflects Ellen’s fabulous sense of style and her no-nonsense attitude. Her collection features fine jewelry suited for everyday wear including earrings by Schlumberger, Cartier, Bulgari and Tiffany & Co. and brooches which she would pin to the center of her shirts or to the lapel of her jackets. A few evening pieces such as the pair of Buccellati diamond and silver earrings accent her collection and compliment her often admired hair.