A large-scale personal collage assembled over decades by Diane Keaton is among the centrepieces of a new exhibition and auction series at bonhams, offering a detailed look into the actor’s creative life, collecting habits and visual sensibility.

The exhibition, titled Diane Keaton: The Architecture of an Icon, opened in West Hollywood ahead of a live auction scheduled in New York City on June 8. Organisers describe the sale as one of four themed auctions dedicated to different aspects of Keaton’s career and personal interests, including fashion, photography, architecture and film memorabilia.

At the centre of the exhibition is what Bonhams specialists refer to as “the wall,” an expansive collage Keaton assembled in her home in Sullivan Canyon over many years.

The work contains a wide range of personal and found objects, including Paris photo booth portraits, Victorian-era mugshots, bingo cards, restaurant menus, photographs, postcards and other ephemera pinned together in dense layers.Anna Hicks, Bonhams’ head of private and iconic collections, said the displayed section represents only a portion of the original installation, which measured approximately eight by 30 feet inside Keaton’s home.

Specialists reportedly discovered additional material, including signed photographs from Al Pacino, hidden beneath parts of the assemblage during preparation for the exhibition.Hicks said the collage reflected Keaton’s long-standing habit of cataloguing visual and emotional interests through collected objects. “All her thoughts and different things that she found important or interesting, she just pinned up here,” Hicks said.

Keaton’s interest in collage-making dates back to her early years in theatre. According to exhibition materials, she was influenced by her mother’s own collages and developed the practice while performing in Broadway productions including Hair during the late 1960s.

Although Keaton often downplayed the artistic significance of the work, describing herself in previous interviews as someone who “cuts out paper” rather than an artist, the exhibition positions the collages as a central part of her creative identity.The auction includes personal effects associated with some of Keaton’s best-known film roles.

Original scripts from Annie Hall, The Godfather and Father of the Bride are displayed alongside handwritten notes Keaton made while preparing for characters. One script from Book Club includes annotations in which Keaton wrote, “this scene is about fighting for independence in a dependent way.”

Bonhams has attempted to recreate elements of Keaton’s domestic environment by arranging certain items as they appeared in her home. The exhibition includes boxes filled with coffee-table books on architecture, dogs and visual art, as well as containers holding unused wrapping paper and small decorative objects.

Fashion also plays a prominent role in the sale, reflecting Keaton’s long association with tailored menswear-inspired clothing. More than 150 clothing lots are included, ranging from black bowler hats and oversized coats to formal suits worn at public events. Among the highlighted pieces are a sequined suit by Gucci, garments from Comme des Garçons and Thom Browne, as well as the suit Keaton wore to the 2020 Academy Awards designed by Ralph Lauren.

Several pieces display visible signs of repeated wear, including scuffed boots and worn footwear. Auction specialists said the condition of the items reflected Keaton’s habit of reusing clothing over long periods, a practice less common in celebrity fashion culture, where archival preservation and one-time appearances often dominate.

The sale also includes works from Keaton’s personal art collection, featuring pieces by David Wojnarowicz, Maynard Dixon and Ed Mell. A drawing created for Keaton by Jack Nicholson is among the featured items.Additional objects on display include south-western-inspired jewellery, antique dental equipment photographs, rubber stamps, toys, postcards and miniature bowler hats stored inside drawers and baskets.

Bonhams described the collection as reflecting Keaton’s longstanding fascination with overlooked or unconventional objects, many of which were gathered from swap meets, antique shops and flea markets over several decades.Photography occupies another major section of the exhibition.

Keaton, who has published several photography books during her career, included her own photographic prints alongside collections of found imagery, including stylised car-crash photographs and archival portraiture. Organisers said the exhibition sought to highlight the continuity between Keaton’s work as an actor, photographer, collector and visual arranger.

The auction series arrives as interest in celebrity archives and estate collections continues to grow within the international auction market. Auction houses in recent years have increasingly marketed personal collections not only as memorabilia but as curated reflections of artistic identity and cultural history.

For Bonhams, the Keaton collection represents a rare opportunity to present an archive that spans film history, fashion, photography and personal artistic practice while retaining the informal and highly individualistic character of the actor’s home environment.