I have always loved beautiful things. And I never wanted my life to be boring. Maybe that’s why I’m drawn to jewelry—it has a sculptural quality that makes it interesting and takes it beyond mere decoration.
Janet Mavec
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.
