san marino

Record-Setting Art Sale Will Lead To Huge Museum Gift

My colleague Jared Paul Stern wrote earlier this week about the blockbuster Picasso sale in New York. The sale of Pablo Picasso painting, "Nude, Green Leaves and Bust" brought in a record-breaking $106.5 million. But just where is all that money going? The late Frances Lasker Brody's art collection could bring The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California its largest cash gift ever, topping the $21 million gift received from Charles and Nancy Munger in 2002.

The Whittier Daily News reports that the staff at The Huntington gathered together to watch the bids rise on-line during the auction at Christie's in New York City on Tuesday. The grand total for Brody's art collection came to more than $224 million including Alberto Giacometti's 1954 bust, "Grande tête mince," which went for over $53 million at auction, and his 1951 bronze, "Le Chat," sold for over $20 million. Huntington president Steven Koblik is still waiting to hear how much from the sale of Brody's art collection will be set aside for The Huntington. The museum will also receive part of the proceeds from the sale of the Brodys Holmby Hills, California home which Bloomberg says is listed at $24.95 million. The home is on the market for the first time since it was built in 1949. The 2.3 acres include a guesthouse, pool and tennis court.

Brody died last November at 93. She had been involved with The Huntington for decades and the gift, which she had delineated in her will, will go toward all the programs at Huntington with special attention paid to the botanical gardens that Brody loved.

Tags: brody art collection, frances lasker brody, huntington library, picasso, san marino

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Bradley Whitford and Jane Kaczmarek In San Marino, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

When I heard last year that long-term married actors Jane Kaczmarek and Bradley Whitford were calling it quits I knew it was only a matter of time before we had a chance to gawk at their real estate. The LA Times reports that the pair have put their San Marino estate on the market. San Marino is a small, affluent enclave near Pasadena, California. They bought the home in 2004 for $5.9 million.

The Italian Renaissance Revival estate was designed in 1924 by Pasadena architect Clarence L. Jay. The home is on more than an acre of land that includes formal gardens, a swimming pool, a spa, guesthouse and additional gardens. The home went through an extensive renovation in 1996-97 at the hands of interior designer, Matthew White. There are six bedrooms total as well as a living room, dining room and a library. Some of the home's more attractive features include burnished walnut toned hardwood flooring and leaded glass windows. The Master Bedroom wing takes over the entire front of the house and includes a sleeping chamber with fireplace, two bathrooms, a large dressing room and three large tiled outdoor terraces. This home is listed at $6.7 million.

Gallery: Bradley Whitford and Jane Kaczmarek in San Marino

Tags: bradley whitford, celerity real estate, estate of the day, jane kaczmarek, san marino

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Rob Schneider in San Marino, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

I would have pegged funnyman actor Rob Schneider for a place in the Hollywood Hills but Schneider actually bunks down in the sedate inland community of San Marino, a town full of beautiful, older homes. According to the LA Times Hot Property column, Schneider has listed a French Normandy-style manor home in San Marino for $3.6 million. The home was built in 1926 by architect Everett P. Babcock as his personal residence and sits on a nearly half-acre site that includes a saltwater swimming pool and a koi pond. The two-story house reflects its stately past and has vintage details including a tower staircase with Batchelder tile risers. There are four bedrooms including a master suite with a fireplace. This home is listed at $3.6 million.

Gallery: Rob Schneider in San Marino