The Fine Art of Family Magazine

The reflection in Barbra Streisand’s mirror must reveal more than two faces. The first two, we know, are of an iconic singer-songwriter (eight Grammies, an Academy Award, and recent immortalization on Fox’s “Glee” says it all) and Oscar-winning actress (“Funny Girl”). As for her third, fourth, and fifth face? In addition to being an acclaimed director and producer, Streisand is one of the most prolific collectors of our day.

For the last five decades, Streisand has collected a little of everything—from Stickley furniture to all types of art (especially anything Art Deco) to antique clothes and much more. Mostly, the general public hears about these things when Streisand is ready to sell. The legendary auction house Christie’s has hosted several of Streisand’s auctions and sold pieces such as a 1902 sideboard made by Gustav Stickley for around $400,000 and a Frank Lloyd Wright table for $150,000. Often times the proceeds from these auctions benefit her charity, the Streisand Foundation, which supports women’s, children’s, environmental and political causes.

“I don’t know why I am so drawn to the designs of the past—I must’ve lived before— but I love when something stands the test of time, when it is so beautifully made you just have to stare at it,” Streisand told the LA Times in 2009. “I remember thinking, ‘How could I ever have spent $45,000 for a Tiffany lamp?’ But you look at it, and that just cannot be duplicated today. God is in the details, to me.”

In 2010, Streisand will attempt to explain her insatiable appetite for collecting in the new book My Passion for Design: A Private Tour, which will hit bookstores on November 16—just a month before she reappears on the silver screen in “Little Fockers” (aka, “Meet the Parents 3”) this December. Like we said, she’s a woman of many faces.

[Photography courtesy of Barbra Streisand's Facebook page]

Published on July 7, 2010

Tags: Celebrating, Celebrity Collections, Collection, Collections, Heirloom, Heirlooms