ATLANTA – A platinum and diamond anniversary ring given by the late Coca-Cola president Robert W. Woodruff (1889-1985) to his wife Nell, and Nell Woodruff’s custom Art Deco platinum and diamond bracelet combined to bring $231,750 in a sale of items from the Woodruff estate held February 26 by Ahlers & Ogletree.
The anniversary ring boasted a 4.61-carat marquise brilliant center cut center diamond with F-color and SI1-2 clarity, plus two 0.30-carat trapezoid shape side diamonds. It was the auction’s top lot, bringing $118,750.
The circa-1920s Tiffany & Co. custom Art Deco platinum and diamond bracelet comprised 20 carats of old European cut, modern cut and various cut diamonds with H-I color and VS-clarity. It also topped six figures, selling for $112,500.
Robert Woodruff was a world-renowned American businessman and philanthropist who served as president of the Coca-Cola Company from 1923 to 1955. His wife Nell had been a Red Cross nurse. The auction featured more than 400 lots and included a portrait of Robert Woodruff by Norman Rockwell and a portrait of George Washington by Dwight D. Eisenhower, a longtime friend of the Woodruffs.
Portrait of Robert Woodruff by Norman Rockwell, $43,750
The oil on canvas Portrait of George Washington after Gilbert Stuart (American, 1755-1828) by former President Eisenhower was housed in a gilt wood frame with a plaque reading, “To Nell and Bob from their friend Ike.” The portrait found a new owner for $50,000.
The signed charcoal portrait on tinted paper by Norman Rockwell (American, 1894-1978), titled Portrait of Robert Winship Woodruff, depicted Woodruff as a young man and sold for $43,750. A portrait of Woodruff by Thomas E. Stephens (British and American, 1885-1966), which pictures him as an older gentleman with a cigar, realized $12,500.
The Woodruffs led a full, exciting life, and the items in the auction reflected that zest for living. They came from the couple’s four homes: Windcrofte, their primary residence on 16 acres in Atlanta; the TE Ranch in Wyoming, the 8,000-acre onetime home of the legendary Buffalo Bill Cody; a two-story River House complex on 52nd Street in Manhattan; and Ichauway, a 29,000-acre working-hunting plantation in South Georgia.
Robert Woodruff’s Coca-Cola collectibles included two advertising lighters, consisting of a Hadson Blue Bird musical lighter with Woodruff’s initials, and a Scripto Vu-Lighter with his name. They sold as a single lot for $3,438.
A late 18th-century seven-piece George III neoclassical Adams sterling silver oval epergne centerpiece, with the marks of William Pitts and Joseph Preedy (London, active 1791-1799), inscribed to Robert Woodruff, achieved $12,500. Also, a 1938 Thomas C. Molesworth (American, 1890-1977) Jack Rabbit sculpture, made of painted wrought iron and accompanied by a typed poem by Mrs. Molesworth, found a new owner for $21,250.
Other noteworthy lots included an early 20th-century Black, Starr and Frost Art Deco vanity case or compact, decorated with 14K yellow and white gold, rose cut diamonds, jadeite jade, enamel and Bakelite, which realized $13,750.
To consign an item, an estate or a collection to Ahlers & Ogletree, call 404-869-2478 or email consign@AandOauctions.com.
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