THE COLLECTION OF SUSIE HILFIGER AT DENBIGH FARM
Prepared on: February 2, 2023
THE COLLECTION OF SUSIE HILFIGER AT DENBIGH FARM
The Collection of Susie Hilfiger at Denbigh Farm represents the life-long interests and connoisseurship of a family whose name is synonymous with style, luxury, and uncompromising taste. Furnished and decorated by Susie Hilfiger, Denbigh Farm has been her residence for over twenty-five years, welcoming family and friends into its classic country interiors and elegantly designed gardens. Tradition and history can be felt throughout the house, once inhabited by Ambassador Joseph Verner Reed who entertained heads of state in the elegant ballroom.
Ms. Hilfiger’s interior design prowess and keen collector’s eye added to the property’s storied past by incorporating notable pieces of furniture and decorations from the Paris home of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor into the comfortable English country furnishings that fill much of the house, complemented by classic Colefax & Fowler upholstery and window treatments, and charming personal touches throughout. Denbigh Farm is stately yet inviting, full of carefully chosen fine art and decorations that speak to Susie Hilfiger’s sense of style and her ability to bring together American and European collecting traditions to create the personal and bespoke interiors that define Denbigh Farm.
Hilfiger S usie
We propose to offer this collection as a single-owner sale to h ighlight the importance of the collection as a whole and allow us to tell the story of Susie Hilfiger and her life at Denbigh Farm. The single-owner sale format provides the greatest opportunity for marketing of the collection and will allow us to highlight the most important works of art and furnishings while at the same time bringing attention and focus to lesser items in the context of the collection as a whole.
STAIR provides the premier environment for the sale of single-owner collections, enabling our dominant positioning in this market and the impressive results we have achieved. We are able to bring together stylistic and thematic threads within a collection to help tell the story of the collector and highlight the importance of individual items while at the same time presenting the collection as a whole to its best advantage. The Collection of Susie Hilfiger at Denbigh Farm will benefit from our ability to understand the intricacies of the collection and to focus marketing efforts in a way that will attract global interest from private and trade buyers across collecting categories.
H S
MARKETING & ADVERTISING
STAIR markets and sells single owner collections with great success. We understand the importance of telling Susie Hilfiger’s story and presenting the Denbigh Farm collection to its best advantage. Our diligence in marketing efforts has consistently produced a sell-through rate of 97%. We will write a press release for the sale and distribute it to our press contacts. The SH monogram will be carried through the marketing for this sale, including a special lot tag that is on all of the items sold.
DIGITAL PROMOTION
We will promote the sale on our own website with articles by our specialists highlighting specific works and collecting categories. The sale will also be promoted through a social media campaign and target emails sent directly by STAIR to past buyers in each category of works offered. Over eighty percent of our sales are sold to online bidders through our own online bidding platform as well as Bidsquare, Invaluable, and Live Auctioneers. For digital marketing of the sales, specialized eblasts and advertising pages will be purchased from these platforms. In addition, we will send targeted emails through the online platforms to reach over 1.4 million potential bidders.
H S
SINGLE OWNER COLLECTIONS SOLD AT STAIR
Property from the Collection of Bunny Mellon Estimate $366,772 - $568,355 / Total
The Estate of Richard P. Mellon, Ligonier, PA Estimate $368,050 - $584,600 / Total Realized $1,219,195
The Collection of Jill and John Fairchild, NY Estimate $258,350 - $416,750 / Total Realized $774,516
The Collection of Gayfryd Steinberg Estimate $235,600 - 402,975 / Total Realized $622,125
Mrs. John Gutfreund Collection, Villanova, PA Estimate $333,000 - $546,200 / Total Realized $937,734
Property from the Collection of Mario Buatta Estimate $477,525 - $746,175 / Total Realized $2,101,032
Property from the Collection of Joan Didion Estimate $259,870 - $398,440 / Total Realized $1,916,700
H S
Realized $1,104,610
AUCTION TIMELINE
Thursday, February 2: STAIR and Hilfiger team meet to review STAIR proposal.
Friday, February 9: Terms, commission and structure of sale agreed.
Week of February 20 & 27: STAIR team deploys to Denbigh Farm to photograph and catalogue the sale material on site.
Week of February 27: A vignette preview in Hudson of the sale to be on view with our English Interior sale.
Week of March 6: STAIR marketing campaign launches with the sale preview page and sale banner made live on stairgalleries.com. The press release will be sent to our media contacts.
Saturday, March 11: A private viewing of sale material to be held at Denbigh Farm inviting STAIR VIP clients and designers.
Week of March 27: Packing and collection of auction items from Denbigh Farm.
Week of April 3: Set the gallery preview.
Friday, April 7: STAIR auction preview opens in Hudson. Catalogue will be put online and a full email list announcement will be sent out.
April 10 thru April 19: Strategic marketing campaign telling the story of Susie Hilfiger as a collector: Top billing in the STAIR weekly newsletter, on-site highlights, social media posts and features sending STAIR’s audience of collectors directly to the sale catalogue.
April 19 & 20: AUCTION!
H S
CONSIGNMENT TERMS:
As a sign of our enthusiasm for this collection, we are pleased to offer the following terms of sale:
18% all-inclusive commission
INCLUDES:
Packing & Transportation
Storage
Insurance
Online listing fees
Advertising and Marketing
Photography
Should an individual lot have a hammer price of $30,000 or above, the commission for that lot will be 10%.
H S
Selling Interesting Things from Interesting People
The Collection of Joan Didion
The Collection of Jill and John Fairchild
The Collection of Mario Buatta
Estate of Mrs. C. Douglas Dillon
The Collection of Jacquelyn Miller Matisse
The Collection of Philip Hewat-Jaboor & Rodney Keenan
Property from the Estate of William Kelly Simpson
The Collection of John Rosselli
The Melva Bucksbaum Collection
The Collection of Mrs. John Gutfreund
Property from the Estate of Charlton Theus, Jr.
Estate of Eugene V. Thaw
The Collection of Keith & Patti Richards
The Collection of Michael Douglas, NY
The Estate of Richard P. Mellon
The Collection of the Late Douglas S. Cramer
Michael S. Smith
Estate of Jan Cowles
Estate of Dominick Dunne
Property of the Soloman R. Guggenheim Museum
The Collection of Gayfryd Steinberg
The Collection of Lois B. Torf
The Collection of Mrs. Florence Vanderbilt Twombly
The Collection of Elaine G. Weitzen
Property From the Collection of Teddy & Arthur Edelman
Princess Fredericka Ann Guirey, Lyford Cay, Bahamas
Estate of Seward Kennedy
The Collection of Winston & C.Z. Guest
Ileana Sonnabend & Estate of Nina Castelli Sundell
The Collection of Henry Koehler
Property from the Collection of Gloria & Richard Manney
Property from the Camilla and Earl McGrath Collection
The Allan Stone Collection
The Collection of Judith & Gerson Leiber
The Estate of Philip and Kathleen Seibel
H S
Founded in 2001 with a team of specialists having a combined 100 years of experience, we established ourselves by handling everything from a single item to an entire estate with sophistication, integrity and rare personal attention.
Colin Stair
President and Founder, spent 15 years with Sotheby’s Restoration, specializing in the fine points of period furniture restoration. His past experience includes studying with Sotheby’s in London and Billingshurst.
Lisa Thomas
Fine Arts Specialist, studied in New York and Paris. Worked in the department of Painting and Scultpture at the Museum of Modern Art, and was Assistant Vice President and a Specialist at Christie’s in the Department of Prints and Illustrated Books.
Muffie Cunningham
Furniture & Decorative Arts Specialist, trained with Christie’s in London , and then spent the next 18 years with Sotheby’s, New York as a Vice President and Department Head of Continental Furniture.
Lauren Anderson
Decorative Arts Specialist, MA in Decorative Arts from Parsons and The Cooper Hewitt in New York, spent 9 years as a Specialist in the Interiors Department, followed by 2 years as Associate Director of Museum Services at Christie’s and was an Associate Vice President.
Paige Wentworth
As the Director of Strategy and Operations at Stair, Paige collaborates with the President and specialists to establish goals related to growth and profitability and develops strategies to achieve those goals.
H S
H U D S O N l N E W Y O R K
