McQueen wore the glasses in the film The Thomas Crown Affair

The tinted glasses, seen in The Thomas Crown Affair, were sold to an anonymous buyer at Bonhams auction house.

More than 200 items belonging to the Hollywood legend were being sold by his widow, Barbara, including leather jackets, jukeboxes and film props.

McQueen, who died in 1980, starred in The Great Escape and Bullitt and was famed for his love of motor sports.

One of his motorcycles, a 1937 Croker, fetched a world record price of $276,500 (£144,800) at the auction.

"He really loved the motorcycles," said his widow Barbara Minty-McQueen.

"He wasn't concerned if they were nut-and-bolt correct, he just liked them."

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In Pictures: McQueen memorabilia

The entire auction brought in $2.9m (£1.5m) at Bonhams auction house in Los Angeles.

"It will be nice for other people to have a piece of Steve... and remember him every day," she said.

Nicknamed the "king of cool", McQueen was one of the iconic actors of the 1960s and 70s.

He is probably best-remembered for his role in The Great Escape, in which his character breaks out of a prison camp and attempts escape on a motorcycle.

Contrary to popular belief, however, the star did not perform the stunt himself. That honour went to his friend and stunt double Bud Ekins.

Following The Great Escape, McQueen earned a best actor Oscar nomination for his role in the 1966 war drama The Sand Pebbles.