Judy Garland's Stolen Wizard of Oz Ruby Slippers To Be Auctioned for $800K

Just in time for Wicked, a historic piece of Wizard of Oz memorabilia is going up for auction.

A pair of Judy Garland’s iconic ruby slippers from the 1939’s The Wizard of Oz is being auctioned off as a part of Heritage Auctions’ Hollywood/Entertainment Signature Auction. As of Wednesday, November 6, the bidding price for the famous movie shoes is set at over $800,000.

Per the auction’s website, the shoes are one of four pairs that have survived in the years since the making of the classic film. Three of the pairs sold at the 1970 MGM Auction were donated to The Smithsonian in 1979, while the pair currently up for auction were sold to collector Michael Shaw.

Shaw displayed the shoes at seminars and during his Michael Shaw’s Hollywood on Tour show through the ‘80s before putting them on display at the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The shoes were ultimately stolen from the museum in 2005 by Terry Jon Martin.

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The stolen shoes were recovered by the FBI in 2018 after a person tried to claim an insurance reward on them, per the Associated Press. Martin was charged with stealing the following year. He pleaded guilty to one count of theft of major artwork in October 2023, claiming he believed the shoes featured real rubies he could sell. Less than two days after the theft, however, upon learning the gems were made of glass, he got rid of the shoes.

Martin was sentenced to serve one year of probation in addition to paying $23,000 to the Judy Garland Museum.

Heritage Auctions’ website states that the stolen slippers were worn by Garland in several memorable The Wizard of Oz scenes, including when her character, Dorothy Gale, clicks her heels together three times and chants “there’s no place like home” at the end of the film.

Made out of red silk faille, lined with white leather and covered in hand-sequined silk georgette, the stolen slippers appear a darker shade of red than the other three pairs of shoes as a result of being kept out of direct light, according to the auction’s website. Garland’s name is also written on the inside of both shoes.

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While the ruby slippers have become one of the most notable clothing items in movie history, the shoes were originally silver in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum’s 1900 book upon which the film is based. The color change was made so that the shoes would highlight the movie’s Technicolor technology.

The upcoming movie Wicked, which premieres in theaters on November 22, will pay tribute to both the book series and The Wizard of Oz film. Trailers for the movie tease a version of Dorothy in a costume reminiscent of Garland’s outfit but is also shown wearing silver slippers instead of red.

Based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 book and the 2003 Broadway musical, Wicked tells the backstory of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West (Cynthia Erivo), and Glinda the Good Witch (Ariana Grande). Set before and during the events of The Wizard of Oz, the story follows the women as they go from school rivals to unlikely friends and foes.