Every Grand Auction Needs a Grand Dame
Lorna Kelly - The Grand Auction's Grand DameTo most avid Broadway memorabilia collectors and Supporters of BC/EFA , Lorna Kelly is known as "the face behind the auction podium" at both the Broadway Bears (Teddy Bear Auction) event and The Annual Broadway Flea Market and Grand Auction, where she’s pounded the gavel since 1989.
Over the last 16 years, Kelly’s expertise and showmanship have brought the auction from a $12,000 gross to high of $295,000 – a grand total of $2,503,700 over 17 separate auctions. But the life experience behind her breezy handling of the gavel is even more amazing.
Growing up in middle-class London, Kelly dreamed of theatrical success. While studying dance in New York, she did secretarial work to support herself, which led to a life-changing assignment. “I was doing temp work and they sent me to Sotheby’s to type labels for a day,” Kelly remembers. By 1976, she was their first female auctioneer.
Though her career thrived, Kelly knew something was missing, and, over a decade ago, her life took a radical turn. “My secretary gave me a book about Mother Teresa, and, honestly, I read it to be polite,” she admits. To her surprise, the message resonated.
“Meanwhile, I went to Calcutta on holiday and left thinking that I would never go back,” she says. “But, the following year, I found myself returning.”
Realizing that working in the slums of India and selling priceless items to the impossibly rich didn’t mesh, Kelly made a break to pursue her spiritual and altruistic quest. She recounted this journey in The Camel Knows the Way, an autobiography that describes 40 days of fasting, exploring the desert on camelback and working with Mother Teresa in a home for the dying. This memoir, which Kelly revised in 2003, has become a book club favorite.
Today, Kelly divides her time between speaking engagements, conducting auctions for numerous charities, and devoting a portion of each year to her spiritual side. These varied pursuits offer balance. “I don’t feel split anymore,” she says. “My work and my life are seamless.”
If you'd like to schedule a speaking engagement with Lorna Kelly or purchase a copy of her book, visit www.LornaKelly.com
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