Marion Oates Charles, known to most as “Oatsie”, was born in Montgomery, Alabama on September 29, 1919. From her very first days, Oatsie led a privileged life and was born into a generation of women who were raised to be hostesses. The granddaughter of a Civil War colonel, congressman, and governor, it seems only natural that Oatsie eventually found her way to Washington D.C. Before arriving in the capital, Oatsie attended boarding schools across Europe. Later in life, she would explain her time in pre-war Europe with anecdotes such as her boarding school being forced to hang portraits of Adolf Hitler in every room. Cleverly, the girls would turn the portraits around so that they faced the wall and only when a Nazi official visited would the girls deploy their secret signal to turn the portraits around again. This kind of clever ingenuity was a hallmark of Oatsie throughout her life.

Following her boarding school years, Oatsie returned to the United States, stopping first in New York City where she was feted with not one, but two debutante balls, so extravagant they were covered by Life magazine. As a young woman, Oatsie became equally known for her beauty and quick wit. In 1942, she married Thomas Leiter and the couple settled in their first home, which was described as a “most glorious apartment” in Dupont Circle. In Washington D.C., Oatsie quickly immersed herself in a formidable social set that included politicians, business tycoons, and socialites alike. During the decades she spent living on R Street in the nation’s capital, Oatsie counted powerful and influential people such as Katharine Graham, Nancy Reagan, Bill Blass, Truman Capote, and Gore Vidal among her close friends. Perhaps most notably, she socialized with Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond series, and is credited with recommending the books to her other good friend, then President John F. Kennedy, while he was bedridden with back pain. Shortly after, when the President’s reading list was published and featured Fleming’s novels, the series achieved huge success in the United States thus launching the James Bond franchise as it is known today.

Later in life, Oatsie remarried Robert H. Charles and the pair began spending their time in Newport, Rhode Island. Rather aptly, they lived at Land’s End, the home once owned by Edith Wharton, who wrote about American aristocracy. During her time in Newport, Oatsie honed her philanthropic efforts. Her neighbor and good friend, Doris Duke, appointed Oatsie to the Board of Directors of her eponymous foundation. Additionally, Oatsie served as President of the Board of Trustees of the Newport Restoration Foundation, demonstrating her commitment to preserving the place she enjoyed so much. Oatsie passed away on December 5, 2018 in her beloved Newport home, leaving an indelible legacy as one of the last great doyennes of American society. She was survived by her daughter, three grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. Her collection of jewelry, Lots 1 through 10, is representative of her eclectic and stylish taste. It includes pieces that were in her family’s collection for generations and also features Oatsie’s own acquisitions. Most prevalently, Oatsie was a devoted patron of Verdura’s whimsical creations, which can be seen in lots 4, 6, 7, 8 and 10.