Life Transitions
Thinning a Collection
Life transitions include downsizing from large homes, reducing the size of a collection after a spouse passes, the dissolution of a marriage, or a landmark event where one needs to convert an asset to cash. La Finca provides the expertise to sell your collectible assets.
Whether selling an entire collection or thinning it over time, there are key factors to success—understanding the value of the works and how to best leverage those things to achieve the maximum return. La Finca’s services are led by a thorough research-based approach that is focused on returns, transparency and controlling costs.
Key success stories:
The diversity of the rare
Sale category: Jewelry and Watches
Sale type: Private Sale
Client: Family Collection, San Francisco
La Finca is one of the few firms that assists clients with selling a myriad of collectibles, including those outside of fine art. The owner of this 6 Ct. diamond, also owned highly desirable watches from Patek Philippe, Rolex, Franck Müller, Cartier, Omega, Bvlgari and Bedat—alongside a painting that was sold for $1,000,000. The watches and this incredible diamond were successfully sold privately after a period of expert research and valuation, on behalf of a San Francisco client who had recently lost her husband. The sale was handled with the utmost care in a difficult time.
LDS Platinum Diamond Ring
6.28 Ct. Asscher cut diamond
I/J color, VVS2 clarity
Flanked by two trillian cut diamonds
G/H color, SI clarity, 0.80 Cts.
Total 7.08 Cts.
Bringing everyone to the table
Sale category: Post War & Contemporary Art
Sale type: Auction Sale
Client: Family Collection, Los Angeles
This exceptional “blue” Jackie from 1964 by Andy Warhol, was brought for sale on behalf of a Los Angeles couple that was in the process of dissolving their marriage. Helping both parties to understand the potential value and sign off on the selling plan was key to allowing them to move forward in this challenging transition. The painting was sold for over $900,000 as the cover lot in a New York auction and is still one of the highest performing Warhol “Jackie” works at auction to this day. The sale allowed the couple to move forward in new directions in their life.
Andy Warhol (1928-1987)
Jackie, 1964
Signed and dated 'Andy Warhol '64' (on the overlap)
Acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas
20 x 16 in. (50.8 x 40.6 cm)
© The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Moving on during a move
Sale category: Impressionist & Modern Art
Sale type: Auction Sale
Client: Getty Family Collection, Los Angeles
This beautiful war-time Balthus drawing from 1943, was in a high profile collection in Los Angeles. The owner of this work was preparing for a move from a large, more traditional apartment into a new contemporary home and artworks that did not fit the new style needed to be sold. It is often the case that when a collector’s aesthetics change, the works in that collection are re-evaluated. This is where La Finca’s expertise in curatorial and market advice come into play with key decision-making in times of life transition.
Balthus (Balthasar Klossowski de Rola) (1908-2001)
Étude pour Jeune fille endormie (Portrait de Jeannette), 1943
Signed 'Balthus' (lower right)
Pencil on paper
12 x 16 3/8 in (30.7 x 41.7 cm)
© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
Risk and reward for a new era
Sale category: Post War & Contemporary Art
Sale type: Private Sale
Client: Family Collection, San Francisco
The owner of this Helen Frankenthaler work on paper acquired it for a beautifully designed beaux-arts style penthouse that was featured in magazines and books and celebrated for its historic interior design aesthetic which matched the style of the 1922 building. As she put the historic home on the market in favor of a smaller contemporary apartment, inevitably some items wouldn’t find a place. As such, it was decided that this work on paper was better sold. During the valuation and pricing research phase, the risk at auction for Helen Frankenthaler works on paper were determined to be too high giving the lagging estimates versus the sale prices. Private sale then became the main selling option. It was then strategically priced, offered and successfully sold privately for a much higher return than the projected auction return (without the potential risk against a low reserve).
Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011)
Untitled, 1988
Acrylic on paper
25 1/2 x 35 1/8 inches (64.7 x 89.2 cm)
Signed lower right
© 2024 Helen Frankenthaler / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
A time to sell
Sale category: Post War & Contemporary Art
Sale type: Private Sale
Client: Family Collection, Los Angeles
A couple in Brentwood, California had considered selling this Ed Ruscha “window painting” painting for several years. During their process of downsizing, they finally decided they wanted to put some resources into new areas, including travel to see their granddaughter in Europe and their new condo in Los Angeles. They sought out advice on timing as to when was the best time to sell this piece and how they would get the maximum return. With this expertise in hand and the owner’s 80th birthday on the horizon they decided it was a good time to part with their Ruscha. Realizing about $300,000 for this work in a private sale, they were able to put their asset to work toward realizing their new pursuits in life with the expert guidance and sale.
Ed Ruscha (B. 1937)
Lightly Disturbed, 1985
Dry pigment on paper
23 x 29 in. (58.4 x 73.6 cm)
© 2023 Ed Ruscha
Great choices and great returns
Category: Post War & Contemporary Art
Sale type: Auction
Client: Family Collection, Pasadena
A collector had acquired this hanging interior lobe sculpture by Oakland artist, Ruth Asawa after befriending her and her husband in the 1960s. It was purchased on a whim at a dinner party at the artist’s house with the $500 cash he had in his pocket. It then hung it under in his house for over 50 years. After the market for Asawa started to move significantly around 2013, he sought out a new valuation and discovered it was worth an extraordinary amount above his initial purchase price. Now getting on in years and doing some estate planning it was the perfect time for him to see a high return on his fantastic investment.
Ruth Asawa (1926-2013)
Untitled (S. 606, Hanging Single-Lobed Five-Layer Continuous Form Within a Form, circa 1962
Copper, naturally oxidized to a green patina
13 3/4 x 14 3/4 x 14 3/4 in. (34.9 x 37.5 x 37.5 cm)
© Ruth Asawa
Roses are green
Category: Decorative Art
Sale type: Auction
Client: Family Collection, Los Angeles
After an unfortunate incident that added financial strain to a Los Angeles collector, she sought advice on selling several collectible assets in her collection. It was time to put this rare Tiffany “Rose Bush” lamp to market. The shade, thought to have been designed by design pioneer Agnes Northrop, is a 26-inch flaring rose design featuring blooms in various stages of growth over a beautiful confetti glass ground. After researching the lamp’s provenance and guiding the collector through the authentication process, the work was perfectly suited for auction given the desirability of its rare shade. It was sold at Christies in New York in a sale with other marquis pieces from Tiffany Studios, Claude & François-Xavier Lalanne and Diego Giacometti. The lamp performed exceptionally well, hammering in the New York design sale for an astounding $210,000 ($264,000 with the Buyer’s Premium) against an estimate of $100,000-$150,000—one of the highest prices ever for a Tiffany “Rose” lamp.
Tiffany Studios
´Rose Bush´ Floor Lamp, circa 1915.
Leaded glass, patinated bronze
62 in. (157.5 cm) high, 24 7/8 in. (63.3 cm) diameter of shade
Shade impressed TIFFANY STUDIOS N.Y 1915
Base impressed TIFFANY STUDIOS NEW YORK 4996
The price of storage
Category: Indigenous Textiles
Sale type: Auction
Client: Family Collection, Los Angeles
Storing collectibles, especially ones that are fragile, can be costly in time, effort, stress, fees and can depreciate quickly if they are not properly cared for. This indigenous rug collection had been stored for several years after the passing of a Los Angeles film director. Eventually his widow decided to sell them, and the right strategy was needed. There were important decisions that needed to make for these specialized works. There were many rugs that needed to be sold in a short amount of time and the collection had a broad spectrum of values. The strategy was soon outlined, and the right auction house was chosen. The collection achieved exceptional results. The Chief’s blanket pictured here sold for over twice the high estimate and the entire collection was incredibly 100 percent sold. These exceptional results allowed the owner to quickly see the proceeds of the sale while relieving her from the burden of storing these important, historic textiles.
A Navajo Second Phase Chief’s Blanket
Late 19th / Early 20th century, Diné
Woven in alternating bands of cream and dark brown wool with blue banding and green crosses.
56 x 69.5 in. (142.2 x 176.5 cm)
One house is not like the other
Category: Books & Manuscripts /Americana, Travel and Natural History
Sale type: Auction
Client: Family Estate, Atherton
This work described in the catalog as “the greatest American landscape book of the post-civil war era” was from a large collection in Northern California that focused on early California Art among other things. The book plates were an extraordinary effort for their time involving up to 56 lithographic stones. The marketing package, historical context for the works and the strength of the sales department were key to getting it positioned correctly. As a result of a great strategy the works sold for more than $150,000 including the auction premium, an exceedingly strong price for the estate which was befitting of the rarity and quality of this offering.
Thomas Moran (1837-1926) and Ferdinand V. Hayden (1829-1887)
The Yellowstone National Park, and the Mountain Regions of Portions of Idaho, Nevada, Colorado and Utah. Boston: L. Prang and Company, 1876
A complete suite of 15 chromolithographs
Various sizes
The many and the few
Category: Prints & Multiples
Sale type: Auction
Client: Personal Collection, Santa Monica
This Warhol “dollar sign” is a hybridized piece because it is a print from an edition of 60, but each iteration is different. Because of this, the decision was made for this to go to auction and let print collectors compete for this one-off print that would not be seen on the market again. It produced exceptional results for a retiring collector soaring to over $94,000. It is still the highest price ever at auction for a work from this edition.
Andy Warhol (1928-1987)
$ (1) (Feldman & Shellmann IIA.278), 1982
Unique screenprint in colors on Lenox Museum Board, signed in pencil and numbered 27/60 (there were also 10 artist’s proofs), published by the artist, with the blindstamp of the printer, Robert Jasen Smith, New York, the full sheet, framed.
Sheet 19 3/4 x 15 5/8 in. (50.2 x 39.7 cm)
© The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Controlling the market
Category: Post War & Contemporary Art
Sale type: Private Sale
Client: Family Collection, San Francisco
‘Thinning’ is the process of slowly selling off a larger holding of art and is often done when one is estate planning or downsizing. Collections that are thinning often want to sell from the top, divesting of their most valuable pieces first. This makes it even more important to have great, objective advice of how and when to sell. After a risk assessment, this painting by Andy Warhol of Alfred Hitchcock was best sold privately. Auction estimates received were conservative due and controlling the price in a private sale was an immense advantage to eliminating the risk of underselling this fantastic painting. The work was sold right from one collection into another and shortly after its purchase it was lent to a museum as a testament to the importance of the work, the artist and the subject.