Beverly N. Grossman: A Life in Art, Fashion, and Extraordinary Company

By: Tanner Branson, Associate Vice President, Head of Department, Luxury Handbags & Couture

A passionate collector, philanthropist, patron of the arts, and world traveler, Beverly built a life that moved effortlessly between the worlds of art, fashion, entertainment, and international society. Pop Fashion: Property from The Estate of Beverly N. Grossman offers a particularly personal glimpse into that life—a collection of clothing, handbags, accessories, and objects that reveal the remarkable woman behind them.

Born in 1933, Beverly moved to Minneapolis as a young adult, where she married Morris Chalfen in 1961. Together, they traveled the world through their involvement with Holiday on Ice, the celebrated international skating spectacular known for its elaborate productions, dazzling costumes, and theatrical spectacle. Beverly's life on the road brought her into contact with an extraordinary range of people and places, and in the 1980s she had the distinction of welcoming Princess Diana to the show. That combination of spectacle, travel, fashion, and culture would become a defining part of Beverly's world.

Beverly's relationship with art began in the 1960s, when she was introduced to the art world through Gordon Locksley, a hairdresser and art student who would go on to become an influential Pop Art dealer. Beverly developed relationships with some of the most important artists of the emerging Pop Art movement, including Robert Indiana, Tom Wesselmann, and Roy Lichtenstein. Her collecting was deeply personal. Rather than simply following the market, Beverly cultivated relationships with artists and engaged directly with the people behind the work.

Among those relationships was her friendship with Andy Warhol. Beverly and Warhol shared an appreciation for the American West, and Warhol famously turned his attention to Beverly herself, creating portraits of the collector. The connection between the two extended beyond the walls of the gallery.

It is perhaps no surprise that someone with Beverly's eye for art would approach fashion with the same sense of discovery.

Her wardrobe reveals a collector's sensibility. Chanel appears throughout Beverly’s wardrobe in an extraordinary variety of forms, from iconic tweed jackets and handbags to colorful, highly expressive pieces, jewelry, and accessories. There are the instantly recognizable signatures of the house, but also the unexpected details—the color, texture, embellishment, and wit that make fashion feel closer to art.

The auction also features two Hermès Birkin’s, including examples in Craie Togo and Black Clemence, alongside Hermès scarves, ready-to-wear, and accessories. Taken together, these pieces demonstrate that Beverly's interests were never confined to a single aesthetic. She embraced the classic alongside the eccentric, the restrained alongside the exuberant.

A Moschino "Lichtenstein" blouse brings Beverly’s love of Pop Art directly into fashion, while Louis Vuitton creations designed in collaboration with Yayoi Kusama transform the handbag and travel accessory into canvases. Among the Louis Vuitton highlights are pieces featuring Kusama's signature pumpkins and Infinity Dots. For Beverly, fashion could be art.

Ultimately, Pop Fashion: Property from The Estate of Beverly N. Grossman is more than a collection of remarkable fashion. It is a portrait of a life lived with curiosity, confidence, and an extraordinary appreciation for beauty.