Trusts, Estates & Inheritances
Maximizing the return while easing the burden.
When a collector passes, often they leave a vast array of artwork and design which they have collected over a lifetime. This material can cover multiple sales categories from the varied landscapes in art. It is difficult to know where one should start, how to value and sell these items, and dealing with the constraints of timing and logistics throughout the process. Adding to these challenges, family members may not even live near where their inherited assets are.
La Finca’s guidance eases the burden on the family, providing all the necessary expertise for the decision-makers to move forward with confidence and without costing them time, energy and unnecessary expenses. La Finca’s insider expertise and ability to outline and execute a concise selling strategy, makes a profound difference in the process and outcomes for our clients.
Key success stories:
High value decision-making
Sale category: Contemporary Art / Prints & Multiples
Sale type: Private Sale
Client: Family Estate, Chicago
This rare, full set of Andy Warhol “Marilyn Monroe” (1967) screen prints was originally purchased many years ago by a Chicago family. When the family matriarch passed away it was one of the most significant assets in the estate. While a fully numbered set of these works is rare, other sets do come to market. As such, bringing it for sale with the right pricing was key. This was achieved by finding the correct blend of pricing the works at a level that is both aspirational but also “on market”. The full set was sold on behalf of the estate in a private sale for $3,150,000.
Andy Warhol (1928-1987)
Marilyn Monroe (Feldman & Schellman II.22-31), 1967
The complete set of ten screenprints in colors on wove paper
36 x 36 in. each (91.4 x 91.4 cm.) each
© The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Emphasizing strengths to produce results
Sale category: Contemporary Art
Sale type: Auction
Client: Mondavi Family Estate, Napa
Camellia Cake (1995) is beautiful example of a late Wayne Thiebaud painting which checks many of the boxes of exactly what you want in a work from this artist. At the time it was offered, there was a large gap between early works from the 60s and a painting like this from the 1990s, even though the subject matter—cakes, pies, and other sweets—is nearly identical. Strategically, the focus was to emphasize the strengths and rarity of this particular picture—the late owner’s friendship and correspondence with the artist, the rarity and desirability of the subject matter (ie. the small number of cake paintings is existence), the fame of the family that owned it, and aggressive pricing so it would not undersell. It was sold successfully for $823,500 including the auction premium.
Wayne Thiebaud (1920-2021)
Camellia Cake, 1995
Oil on panel
11 x 14 in. (27.9 x 35.6 cm.)
© 2024 Wayne Thiebaud/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
The payoffs of calculated risk
Sale category: Old Master Paintings
Sale type: Auction
Client: Family Collection, San Francisco
This is the best of example from one of only four paintings by British Old Master artist, Thomas Daniell, during his seven- year grand tour of India. The piece well outperformed expectations, selling for over $1,000,000 in a Christies Evening sale. Private sale options indicated we would see offers in the $300,000 to $400,000 range which would have been a strong result. But the client, on the objective recommendation of Dane Jensen’s research, decided to go with a riskier option of putting it up for auction. The strategy was a very calculated risk, however, based on the research, the strength and rarity of the painting when put up for auction would propel it well beyond the other private sale offers.
Estimate: USD 120,000 – USD 180,000
Price realized: USD 1,071,000
Thomas Daniell, R.A.
(Kingston-Upon-Thames 1749-1840 Kensinton)
The entrance of an excavated Hindu cave temple at Mahabalipuram on the Coromandel Coast, circa 1794
Oil on canvas
48 x 71 5/8 in. (122 x 179.5 cm.)
Getting the most for the most value
Sale category: Decorative Arts / 19th Century Sculpture
Sale type: Auction
Client: Family Estate, Chicago
When one is selling an estate, there are always many more works on the lower value spectrum. This estate, a Decorative Arts collection in Chicago, was strategically consigned almost entirely to Christies and was offered across several different auctions. One of the marquis sales from the estate was this Charles Cordier sculpture. It is an exceptional work by one of the great French sculptors of the 19th Century and a high-profile auction in New York was where it was decided would allow it to perform its best. It did just that achieving the third highest price ever for a work by Cordier at auction.
Price realized: USD 350,000
Estimate: USD 100,000 – USD 200,000
Charles-Henri-Joseph Cordier (1827-1905)
Poésie (Poetry) or Jeune femme Pariote (Young woman of Paros), 1875
Marble, onyx-marble, Kashmir onyx marble and gilt-bronze
31 ½ in. (80 cm.) high, 20 in. (51 cm.) wide, 10 in. (25.5 cm.) deep
Data-driven strategy
Sale category: Contemporary Art
Sale type: Auction
Client: Family Estate, Los Angeles
This Tom Wesselmann “steel drawing” coming from a Los Angeles estate, was a bit of a rarity. While its subject and size were well-documented, “steel drawings” from the artist were typically were painted in color. As such, it was a bit of an unknown as to what level this all black piece would sell at given the lack of direct comparables. It was important to look very rigorously at the data to understand if it should be sold at auction or in a private sale and what a likely outcome would be given its lack of color. After analyzing the market, it was determined that the existing data leaned toward the potential for a much better result at auction than a what a private sale would yield. The decision was made to sell in in a New York auction where it sold for $277,000, producing great results for a California family.
Tom Wesselman (1931-2004)
Steel Drawing / Bedroom Brunette with Irises (Black Variation #1), 1987-88
Enamel on laser cut steel
51 x 79 in. (129.4 x 200.6 cm.)
@ Tom Wesselmann
Selling strong in a down market
Sale category: Contemporary Art
Sale type: Auction
Client: Family Estate, Los Angeles
While this painting, The Entry (1985), is an exceptional, well-painted late example from Karel Appel, the artist’s work from this period had seen mixed results. As such, to get the best sale price for this work, it was paramount to find the right strategy within a field of limited options. This work when viewed in-person had an impressive impasto paint layer, one of its best attributes. So the work being shown in front of the right audience of buyers would give it the best chance to perform well. Time and place were then key factors in the sale. After reviewing a number of options, the correct sales avenue became clear, and it was consigned to the premier November auctions in New York in the brand new galleries at Phillips Auctioneers on Park Avenue. This was also the best option to control costs as shipping it to Europe where the artist was from was prohibitively expensive for a large work. The strategy paid off in a huge way with the work selling for over double the high estimate and one of the highest, recent sales for a work of this type by the artist.
Estimate: $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for: $277,200
Karel Appel (1921-2006)
The Entry, 1985
Oil on canvas
96 x 72 in. (243.8 x 182.9 cm.)
© 2024 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Van Lennep Producties, Amsterdam
Finding the market
Sale category: Decorative Art / Silver
Sale type: Auction
Client: Family Estate, Atherton, California
These fantastic, museum-quality, silver wine coolers, came from an estate which was almost entirely sold on California. However, when you are dealing with an object of exceptional rarity, one needs to position them as such. What you communicate about the object can be embedded in what sale you choose and where that sale is. In this case, they were best removed from the larger consignment of the collection and put to market in a premier Decorative Arts sale in New York as one of the top lots of the sale. This placement concretized the message for silver buyers that these Storr wine coolers were special pieces—and that optics matters and produces results. Since selling in 2020, only one other pair of Paul Storr wine coolers has sold for more than these at auction. This type of intuitive strategy is only achieved through right guidance and expertise that comes with La Finca.
Price realized: USD 106,250
Mark of Paul Storr (1828-1837)
The Triumph of Bacchus: A pair of George IV Wine Coolers
12 3⁄4 in. (32.3 cm.) high each
237.8 oz. (7,395.5 gr.)
Playing offense and defense at the same time
Sale category: Contemporary Art / British & Modern Art
Sale type: Auction
Client: Family Estate, Texas
Costs can add up and eat away at returns even for a work like this which sold for 200,000 GBP (with premium) or about $260,000 in USD. Bringing this work to market involved making key decisions with the heirs to ensure the costs were controlled while the work was positioned to achieve its highest possible return for this Texas family. The consideration of costs opened up an important question, where should this Barbara Hepworth, an English artist, be sold? In the US or in London?
While Hepworth’s core market was regional in the UK, her star was rising in the US. In this case, the best course of action was determined to send this piece to London to a focused, British Modern auction. The strategy was to get it in front of its main core of collectors—a place where data showed Hepworth sculptures were getting the best results. Because it was a smaller sale, the work received a better marketing package from the auction house than it would have in a larger Modern Art sale in the US. Through negotiation it was also included in a Contemporary Art preview of a New York auction at no cost to the client. An aggressive offense with a rigorous defense produced great results, selling for 200,000 GBP.
Dame Barbara Hepworth (1903-1975)
Maquette for Monolith, conceived in 1963-64, and cast in 1964
Bronze with a green and brown patina
13 in. (33 cm.) high
© Barbara Hepworth
Smart Money
Sale category: Contemporary Art
Sale type: Auction
Client: Family Estate, Bel Air
This 1970s Larry Poons painted in a spectacular colorway and a rich surface posted a huge number for a work of this type—one of the highest ever at $200,000. The work which sold at Phillips Auctioneers in New York achieved more than it would have in a private sale by utilizing the power of auction and its ability to get outsized results for “A plus” works.
Larry Poons (B. 1937)
Untitled, 1973-74
Acrylic on canvas
78 x 27 1/2 in. (198.1 x 69.9 cm.)
© Larry Poons
Going at it alone, for the better
Sale category: Impressionist Art
Sale type: Auction
Client: Family Estate, Northern California
This Henri Martin painting was sold individually aside from a large collection of silver, Asian art, antique guns, important clocks, Western Art, Pre-Colombian art and other decorative furniture and design. With the right expert advice, it was determined that four different auction houses would sell off the collection. Each work was carefully assessed for its value and sale placement as to where it was best served to either get the best value or leveraged for the best financial terms. For This Martin was offered and successfully sold in an Impressionist auction in New York at Christies, one of the best places on the global calendar to buy work from this period.
Henri Martin (1860-1943)
L’eglise Saint-Cirq Lapopie percheé sur la falaise de la boucle de Lot, ciel bleu.
Oil on canvas
39 1/2 x 32 in. (100.4 x 81.3 cm)
Off-piste problem solved
Sale category: Impressionist Art
Sale type: Auction
Client: Family Estate, Northern California
Because the style of this work is not what Francis Picabia was known for, it brought challenges in how to best bring it to market. It is a return to a variant of Impressionism late in his career that he had largely abandoned decades earlier. But good advisors, find good solutions and this work was sold in New York for over $200,000 on behalf of a California estate who had owned it since 1968.
Francis Picabia (1879-1953)
St. Tropez, circa 1938
Oil on canvas
23 2/3 x 31 3/4 in. (60 x 80.7 cm.)
The nexus of blue-chip and legacy
Sale category: Contemporary Art
Sale type: Auction
Client: Mondavi Family Estate, Napa
This Helen Frankenthaler painting, Summer Angel (1984), is a beautiful and large-scale example of her work. The piece was sold at for just above $900,000 which was a very strong number at the time. The selling strategy capitalized on the renown of the late owners, winemakers Robert and Margrit Mondavi, their personal friendship with the artist and, of course, the strength of the picture itself when the market for Frankenthaler was expanding from a US market to a global one.
Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011)
Summer Angel, 1984
Acrylic on canvas
91 1/8 x 114 1/2 in. (231.5 x 290.8 cm.)
© 2024 Helen Frankenthaler / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
A family investment made good
Sale category: Contemporary Art
Sale type: Auction
Client: Family Estate, Fort Worth
Sometimes estates really have one artwork of significant value…so you better make it count. That was the case with this 1980s Andy Warhol Soup Box painting from a Fort Worth, Texas collection. It was sold at Bonhams Auctioneers where it would get preferred placement, including four pages and an essay in the New York catalog. This kind of marketing package would not have been possible with a larger auction house so strategically there was more to gain from a smaller house, the kind of expert determination that La Finca assists clients with. The work sold for just over $200,000 which was an excellent return on investment for the family of the late owner.
Andy Warhol (1928-1987)
Campbell’s Soup Box (Noodle Soup), 1986
Acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas
14 x 14 in. (35.6 x 35.6 cm.)
© The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Maximizing minimalism
Sale category: Contemporary Art
Sale type: Private Sale
Client: Family Estate, Chicago
When two California collectors moved east to Chicago they brought their Minimalist collection of California art with them including this fantastic John McLaughlin painting from 1961. It was sold quietly and privately to minimize the risk of it underselling and realized over $250,000.
John McLaughlin (1898-1976)
#23, 1961
Oil on canvas
60 x 42 in. (152.4 x 106.68 cm.)
© 2024 John McLaughlin
No stone left unturned
Sale category: Contemporary Art
Sale type: Auction
Client: David & Gloria Wolper Family Estate, Los Angeles
Mega-collectors and Gloria and David Wolper collected incredible examples of works by Pablo Picasso and Joan Miro and others. Their collection still stands as one of the most spectacular and important collections of artworks ever assembled in Los Angeles. Sometimes works can be overlooked, however, and this rare Jasper Johns bronze flag, an iteration of one of John’s most famous series of works was found in an unusual place—on the wall in the elevator of their home. This jewel brought $138,600 in a sale for the family.
Jasper Johns (B. 1930)
Medal of Liberty
Incised with the artist’s signature, date and foundry mark ‘J. Johns 1960-86 ©’ (right side edge); incised with the number ‘A.P.' (on the reverse)
Bronze
4 1/2 x 6 5/8 in. (11.4 x 16.7 cm.)
© Jasper Johns
Placement and optics
Sale category: Contemporary Art
Sale type: Auction
Client: Family Estate, Beverly Hills
This Yaacov Agam from the 1960’s was strategically included in a special curated capsule sale in a New York auction. The auction succeeded in bringing out many of the most significant collectors of Geometric Abstraction. The placement helped is soar to $187,000 against a $30,000-$50,000 estimate, still a top ten result of the artist at auction.
Yaacov Agam (B. 1928)
New Year, 1967-68
Oil on wood relief
Signed in English and Hebrew, titled, inscribed and dated 'YAACOV AGAM "NEW YEAR" PARIS 1967-8 AGAM' (on the reverse)
29 1/2 x 39 5/8 x 2 3/4 in. (74.9 x 100.6 x 7 cm)
© Yaacov Agam
Tastemaking
Sale category: Contemporary Art / Design
Sale type: Auction
Client: James Galanos Family Estate, Beverly Hills
This Peter Voulkos ceramic came from the estate of fashion designer James Galanos of Beverly Hills. Galanos was one of the most famous American designers of his day and created dresses for Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie Kennedy and Nancy Reagan among many others. He had a style-driven and eclectic assembly of artworks and design from a myriad of periods which were specifically chosen for his architectural Beverly Hills home. This rare and spectacular example by Voulkos, one of Los Angeles’s most innovative artists, was befittingly offered and successfully sold in a curated sale of just works from California’s most important artists.
Peter Voulkos (1924-2002)
Vase, 1958
Stoneware with slips and glaze
Signed and dated 'VOULKOS / 58' (near the base)
26 x 12 x 11 in. (66 x 30.5 x 27.9 cm)
©Peter Voulkos
Image, quality and results
Sale category: Contemporary Art
Sale type: Auction
Client: Family Estate, Santa Barbara
This Deborah Butterfield trompe l’oeil bronze was sold on behalf of a Santa Barbara, California family. They kept the work for many years after the matriarch of the family passed as it was immensely important to her during her lifetime. As illustrated in this image, special attention was given in the photography of the work which emphasizes its texture, form and dimensionality to enhance it overall appeal. The work sold exceptionally well, achieving $245,000, which is still a top ten price at auction for Butterfield and is an astounding price for a work of this size.