Ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in 'Wizard of Oz' sell for record-shattering $28 million

DALLAS — Judy Garland's iconic ruby slippers from the 1939 movie classic "The Wizard of Oz" sold for $28 million at auction on Saturday, Dec. 7, shattering the record for a piece of movie memorabilia.

The final sales price, which rises to $32.5 million after taxes and fees, broke the record set in 2011 when Marilyn Monroe's subway dress sold for $5.52 million.

The winning bidder's identity was not immediately known.

"This transcends Hollywood, this transcends entertainment. This is part of American history now," said Mike Sadler, consignment director at Heritage Auctions, before he auctioned off the shoes Saturday.

The sale is the latest development in the growing legend of a pair of shoes that was already considered a Hollywood treasure before it was the target of a sensational heist and recovery that could have been plot points from a blockbuster movie.

The shoes, owned by collector Michael Shaw, were stolen in 2005 from a display pedestal in the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. In 2018, the FBI recovered them in a Minneapolis sting.

Leaders at the Grand Rapids museum pledged to buy the shoes to put them back on display in Garland's birthplace and childhood home, attempting to raise the multiple millions of dollars they would likely need, including by offering tours about the theft.

While museum leaders never disclosed how much money they raised, it seemed clear they knew they would be in a very rich auction battle. They also said they would welcome the chance to display the shoes on behalf of the winning bidder.

On Saturday, the Judy Garland Museum confirmed they didn't win the slippers, in a Facebook post: "We sadly didn't win the Ruby Slippers to bring home to Judy Garland's birthplace of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, but we'll continue to follow their story & share with you, our Best Judy's. Thank you again to everyone for your support!!!!!"

In May, Minnesota pledged $100,000 toward the museum's purchase of the shoes, with Gov. Tim Walz promising they would be secured in "24/7 Ocean's 11-proof security," referring to the 1960 heist movie and its 2001 remake.

But it seemed clear even then that the pledge would only be a small contribution toward the winning bid. The FBI may have inadvertently set the price floor for the slippers when it valued them at "several million dollars" in a press release, and they were later valued at an estimate of $3.5 million.

On Saturday, the bidding for the shoes rapidly shot from a opening bid of $1.55 million to past $20 million, before settling at $28 million.

“There is simply no comparison between Judy Garland’s Ruby Slippers and any other piece of Hollywood memorabilia,” said Heritage Auctions Executive Vice President Joe Maddalena, in a news release. “The breathtaking result reflects just how important movies and movie memorabilia are to our culture and to collectors.

Shaw, a movie memorabilia collector, obtained the slippers in 1970. One of several sets of shoes used by Garland in the movie in her role as Dorothy Gale, the pair Shaw owned was dubbed the "Traveling Shoes," because he exhibited them in a national road show. Shaw later agreed to display them at the museum in Grand Rapids, where they were discovered stolen the morning of Aug. 28, 2005 — a theft blamed on poor security and small-town trust.

After the 2018 recovery, federal prosecutors charged two Minnesota men in connection with the theft.

Terry Jon Martin of Grand Rapids pleaded guilty to the theft in October 2023. The aging thief claimed he was seeking "one last score." Martin's alleged accomplice, Jerry Hal Saliterman of Crystal, Minnesota, is set to face trial in January. Both men had long criminal rap sheets involving stolen goods. The FBI says the investigation is ongoing.

The slippers were the featured item in an auction at Heritage Auctions that included other movie memorabilia, including many pieces from "The Wizard of Oz."

The items included the conical black witch's hat worn in the 1939 film by Margaret Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch of the West, a character that has gained new fame in the recently released movie version of the "Wicked" musical. Including taxes and fees, the witch hat sold for $2.93 million.