Robin Williams' collection of art, memorabilia to be auctioned off

SAN FRANCISCO -- Hundreds of items, worth millions of dollars, that belonged to the late Robin Williams and his family will go up for auction this Thursday.

Robin Williams, a comedian, actor and family man, was also a collector. His collection includes contemporary sculptures, paintings from all over the world, furniture, decorative art and movie memorabilia. Sotheby's is auctioning off more than 300 items, worth about $3 million, that belonged to Williams and his second wife, Marsha Williams.

Much of the art and memorabilia up for auction existed right alongside Robin Williams and his family at their homes in San Francisco's Sea Cliff neighborhood and in the Wine Country.

"It really is the story of the 20 years that Marsha and Robin Williams were together," said Jennifer Biederbeck who is the head of Sotheby's San Francisco office. She has spent months putting together the sale of not only Williams' fine art, but also personal items like awards and photos, watches, even toys that Williams and his children played with. "How do you appraise a toy, you know that's worth a $100, except it's almost invaluable because it's a Robin Williams Pacman?"

Biederbeck says even the art, much of it very important, tells the story of Williams and a life well-lived. "They as a family apparently watched a lot of Japanese animation," which is why Biederbeck says they were drawn to collect a nearly 10-foot sculpture called, "Puff Marshie" by Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara.

The items are appraised from $75 to $600,000 and will be auctioned off on Thursday in New York City. The money raised from some of the items will benefit charities that Williams supported.