Late US justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's collectibles up for auction to benefit opera

Justice Ginsburg resided at the historic Watergate Complex until the day she died at 87

Mourners gather on the steps of the US Supreme Court in Washington DC after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died from pancreatic cancer at the age of 87, on September 18, 2020. EPA

US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg gestures to the attendees of her presentation at the National Book Festival presented by the Library of Congress at the Walter E Washington Convention Center in Washington on August 31, 2019. EPA

The flag at the White House flies at half-mast on September 18, 2020 after the Supreme Court announced that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had died. AP Photo

Ruth Bader Ginsburg poses in her robe in her office at the US District Court in Washington on August 3, 1993 after the Senate voted 96-3 to confirm her appointment as the 107th justice and the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court. AP Photo

A man holds a sign reading "RBG HERO" as mourners hold a vigil for Ruth Bader Ginsburg outside the US Supreme Court in Washington. Bloomberg

People gather under a mural of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the U Street neighbourhood in Washington after the announcement of her death. AP Photo

Ruth Bader Ginsburg types while on a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship in Italy in 1977. Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via AP

Ruth Bader in 1948. Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via AP

Ruth Bader Ginsburg poses with her family at the Supreme Court in Washington. From left are, son-in-law George Spera, daughter Jane Ginsburg, husband Martin, son James Ginsburg. The judge's grandchildren Clara Spera and Paul Spera are in front. AP Photo

Ruth Bader Ginsburg with her husband Martin and their daughter Jane in 1958. Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via AP

Ruth Bader's engagement photograph, while a senior at Cornell University in December 1953. Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via AP

Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her husband Martin. Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via AP

Ruth Bader Ginsburg's daughter Jane, born in 1955 and son James, born in 1965, pose for a photo. Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via AP

Joan Ruth Bader at two years old in 1935. Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via AP

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, her husband Martin Ginsburg, and their children Jane and James off the coast of St Thomas in 1979. Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via AP

US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg shows the many different collars she wore with her robes, in her chambers at the Supreme Court building in Washington on June 17, 2016. Reuters

US Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice Anthony Kennedy, Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Stephen Breyer, Justice Elena Kagan, Justice Samuel Alito, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, at the Supreme Court building on June 1, 2017. Reuters

Ruth Bader Ginsburgh holds up a drawing of herself with the words "My Grandmother Is Very Special by Paul Spera" as she appears before the Senate Judicary Committee July 20, 1993, the first day of her confirmation hearings for the post of Supreme Court Justice. Paul is Ginsburg's grandson. Reuters

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, US President Bill Clinton's first Supreme Court nominee, is greeted by the first two women to serve on the Senate Judicary Committee, Dianne Feinstein and Carol Moseley-Braun, on July 20, 1993, before the opening of her confirmation hearings. Reuters

Ruth Bader Ginsburg gets a hug from President Barack Obama as he arrives for his address to a joint session of Congress on February 24, 2009. Reuters

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg attends the lunch session of The Women's Conference in Long Beach, California on October 26, 2010. Reuters

President Bill Clinton applauds as Ruth Bader Ginsburg prepares to speak in the Rose Garden of the White House, after the president announced he would nominate her to the Supreme Court on June 14, 1993. AP Photo

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shakes hands with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor along with Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G Breyer before President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address. AFP

The first female US Supreme Court justice, Sandra Day O'Connor, speaks as fellow Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg listens during a forum at the Newseum in Washington on April 11, 2012, to mark the 30th anniversary of O'Connor's first term on the Supreme Court. Reuters

President Bill Clinton and Ruth Bader Ginsburg walk along the Colonnade of the White House in Washington, as they head to the Rose Garden for a news conference where the resident nominated Ginsburg to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court. AP Photo

Ruth Bader Ginsburg stands during the national anthem at a US Citizenship and Immigration Services naturalisation ceremony at the New York Historical Society Museum and Library in Manhattan, New York on April 10, 2017. Reuters

US President George W Bush's nominee to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Judge John Roberts, walks past Associate Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the steps of the court in Washington on September 6, 2005. AFP

US Supreme Court judges Sandra Day O'Connor, Ruth Bader-Ginsburg and the US Ambassador in Paris Howard Leach stand with French President Jacques Chirac at him at the Elysee Palace on July 8, 2003. AFP

Picasso ceramics, old masters' works and a famous fur coat are among the pieces from the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg's art collection and personal items that are to be auctioned near Washington this month.

Proceeds from the sale will go to the US capital's Washington National Opera to support an art form close to the Supreme Court justice's heart.

The sale, organised by an auction house in Alexandria, Virginia, will take place on April 27 and 28, and underscores the status of the late judge who was popularly known as "RBG" when she died in September 2020 at the age of 87.

She first rose to prominence in the 1970s as a lawyer, winning several court battles that brought down a host of laws that discriminated against women.

In 1993, nominated by Bill Clinton, she became only the second woman to serve on the US Supreme Court, along with Sandra Day O'Connor.

In 1993, then Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg poses in her robe in her office at U.S. District Court in Washington. Earlier, the Senate voted 96-3 to confirm her as the 107th justice and the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at her home in Washington, on Sept. 18, 2020, the Supreme Court announced. AP

Ruth Bader Ginsburg types while on a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship in Italy in 1977. Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via AP

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg attends the lunch session of The Women's Conference in Long Beach, California October 26, 2010. Reuters

This image provided by the Supreme Court shows Ruth Bader's engagement photograph, while a senior at Cornell University in December 1953. Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via AP

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg participates in taking a new family photo with her fellow justices at the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 1, 2017. Reuters

President Barack Obama hugs Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Capitol Hill in Washington, prior to delivering his State of the Union address. From left are, Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Anthony Kennedy, Obama, Justice Ginsburg and Justice Stephen Breyer. AP

An image of US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is projected onto the New York State Civil Supreme Court building in Manhattan after she passed away on September 18, 2020. Reuters

In this image provided by the Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, her husband Martin Ginsburg, and their children Jane and James off the coast of St. Thomas in 1979. Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via AP

This image provided by the Supreme Court shows Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her husband Martin. Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via AP

In this June 15, 1993, file photo, President Bill Clinton applauds as Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg prepares to speak in the Rose Garden of the White House,after the president announced he would nominate Ginsburg to the Supreme Court. AP

This image provided by the Supreme Court shows Ruth Bader Ginsburg, her husband Martin and their daughter Jane in 1958. Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at her home in Washington, on Sept. 18, 2020, the Supreme Court announced. Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via AP

In this image provided by the Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her husband Martin Ginsburg, pose for a photo in Fort Sill, Okla., when Martin was serving in the U.S. army at Artillery Village at Fort Sill. Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via AP

This image provided by the Supreme Court shows Ruth Bader, age age 15 in 1948, giving a sermon as the camp rabbi at Che-Na-Wah in Minerva. Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via AP

This image provided by the Supreme Court, shows Joan Ruth Bader at two-years-old in 1935, at her home in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via AP

She defended other progressive causes, including the rights of sexual minorities and immigrants.

Through her work, Ginsburg became renowned over the years even among younger generations, who nicknamed her "The Notorious RBG", in reference to the rapper, The Notorious B.I.G.

"RBG" also became known for her dress code consisting of fine-knit gloves, pearl necklace and muslin collars that are now so recognisable that they have become Halloween staples for kids.

"RBG" also became known for her dress code consisting of fine-knit gloves, pearl necklace and muslin collars. Reuters

Plaques and medals that she was awarded during her long career are among the hundreds of personal items featured in the sale.

In 2016, the audience at Washington's Kennedy Centre gave the judge a standing ovation when she appeared on stage for a small speaking role in an opera.

"The justice was a champion of the arts at large, but nothing came close to her passion for opera. She was a frequent attendee of Washington National Opera events," the company said after Ginsburg's death.