If all had gone allot to plan this workweek , Catholic University of America would have successfully auctioned off adressJudy Garland wore in 1939 ’s classicThe Wizard of Ozfor over $ 1 million . But a difference over who actually have the dress — and whether a priest ’s devotion to poorness affects that condition — has put a halt to the proceedings .
accord toThe Washington Post , the Washington , D.C. , school was set to trade the blue and white-hot check gingham dress , one of six Garland wear out in the pic , to raise money for its play department . The garment had previously belong to Reverend Robert Hartke , the department ’s promontory , who experience it as a talent from actress Mercedes McCambridge in 1973 . ( McCambridge was a friend of Garland ’s as well as Hartke ’s . ) When Hartke retired and later choke in 1986 , it was bequeath on the premises and subsequentlydiscoveredin a shoebox in 2021 . That ’s when the school decide to put it up for auction .
It’sbelievedto be one of two continue dresses with the accompany blouse : The other was deal in 2016 for $ 1.6 million .
But this hebdomad , U.S. District Court Judge Paul Gardephe in Manhattan rule that the garb ’s provenance was under dispute and the auction at Bonhams could not move forward . Hartke ’s niece , Barbara Ann Hartke , had file a lawsuit to stop the sale , claiming the clothing belonged to her uncle ’s estate .
Catholic University argued that because Hartke was a priest who had taken a vow of poorness , the garb should be considered a gift to the school ; counsel for Barbara Ann Hartke countered that McCambridge had a personal relationship with the clergyman and that the dress was intend specifically and entirely for him . ( Orin toto , if you prefer . )
The frock is improbable to come up for sale until its ownership is legally constitute , which might take month or age — unless the two can come to an understanding the next clip they meet in judicature on June 9 .
This is barely the first timeOz - pertain wearing apparel has been the subject of controversy . A pair of Dorothy’sruby slipperswere stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids , Minnesota , in 2005 and did n’t resurface until 2018 .
[ h / tThe Washington Post ]
