Katharine Hepburn auction in US

Hepburn's family will receive the proceeds from the sale

Film icon Katharine Hepburn's possessions, valued at more than $1m (£555,000), are to be auctioned in a two-day sale in New York from Thursday.

The Sotheby's sale includes objects from the Oscar-winning actress's homes in New York, Connecticut and Los Angeles. She died in June 2003 aged 96.

Items include a three-inch bust of lover Spencer Tracey made by Hepburn, and a telegram announcing her birth.

Some of Hepburn's own paintings and sketches will also be on sale.

The items include a brooch given by her one-time paramour Howard Hughes, and an address book listing Frank Sinatra.

Freckles

One of the photos on sale showed what Hepburn hid with make-up - deeply freckled skin.

"Ms Hepburn had freckles from head to toe, and in fact she did a number of self-portraits that showed them. The first time we looked at them we thought they were chickenpox," a Sotheby's spokeswoman said.

As well as memorabilia from more than 40 film roles, there are also more than 100 of the actress's paintings, including a self-portrait described as "unflattering".

"She was unpretentious. The things she cared about, her paintings, her lifestyle, are very casual," one fan said.

The four-time Oscar winner appeared in more than 40 films

'Voyeuristic'

However, not everyone is happy with so much of Hepburn's private memorabilia going on sale.

"Her biographer sees the sale as an invasion of her privacy, and others have commented that the auction has an unseemly, almost voyeuristic, appeal," the BBC's Tom Brook, who viewed items from the sale on Wednesday, said.

Even everyday items such as her credit cards and her telephone are included.

Money raised from the sale will go into a trust for her family.