(Washington) Picasso ceramics, masterpieces or even a mink coat: a collection of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s personal items will be auctioned near Washington, a new illustration of the astonishing popularity of the former dean Progressive Supreme Court of the United States.
Posted yesterday at 5:14 p.m.
The proceeds of the sale will be donated to the benefit of the opera of the American capital, art which was a passion for the famous judge who died in September 2020 at the age of 87.
Among the flagship lots of this sale, scheduled for April 27 and 28, is the fur coat of the magistrate, known for her outdated style of dress which did not prevent her from becoming an icon among young people, despite the austerity of the judicial institution where she sat for more than a quarter of a century.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg rose to prominence in the 1970s as a lawyer, winning several court battles that brought down a whole series of laws that discriminate against women.
In 1993, nominated by Bill Clinton, she became the second woman to sit on the United States Supreme Court, where she defended other progressive causes, including the rights of sexual minorities or immigrants.
Through this work, Ruth Bader Ginsburg has become an icon among Democrats over the years, even being nicknamed “Notorious RBG” in reference to the murdered rapper Notorious BIG.
Photo by STEPHEN CROWLEY, New York Times archive
Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1993
Her fine knit gloves, pearl necklace and muslin jabot adorning her black magistrate’s robe have become iconic to the point of being taken up in costume for the Halloween party.
In 2016, the public at the Kennedy Center in the American capital greeted with an ovation the appearance of “RBG” on the stage of the opera in which she held, at 83, a small speaking role.
“The judge was a champion of the arts at large, but nothing came close to her passion for opera. She regularly attended events at the Washington National Opera,” the cultural institution said on the occasion of her death.