Catholic University to auction off Dorothy’s dress from ‘Wizard of Oz’

The iconic dress, discovered in 2021, will help fund a new film acting program in the university.

The Catholic University is preparing to auction off the dress worn by Judy Garland in the classic film The Wizard of Oz. The iconic blue-and-white gingham dress could draw as much as $1.2 million. The funds raised by the sale will go towards establishing a new film acting program in the university. 

CUA’s “Dorothy dress” is one of a handful of surviving costumes from the 1939 production. It was presented as a gift to Rev. Gilbert Hartke, the drama school’s founder, in 1972, but was soon misplaced.Faculty and staff searched for nearly 50 years, but it wasn’t until renovations began on the Hartke Theater that the dress came to light.