Realty Guild Blog

Frank Gehry’s Schnabel House in Brentwood, CA, chosen by Living Architecture as one of the 20 Greatest American Houses of the 20th Century, is on sale through our Christie’s International Real Estate Affiliate in Los Angeles, for $13 million. The photos tell the story, and you can enjoy more through this link.

The Schnabel House was built in 1989, and purchased in 2006 by Tony-award winning producer Jon Platt (who currently has three productions on Broadway—Wicked, Driving Miss Daisy, and The Book of Mormon). While Gehry is one of the most acclaimed architects of the 20th century, and lives  in quite the home himself (see photos of Gehry’s own home here), he’s said of the Schnable House that it was a design that he had “fantasized about for my own house.” Platt, for his part, has modernized Gehry’s original design to include an iPad controlled home system and mechanized skylight system to cool the interior spaces with minimal energy consumption.

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Once a Cordon Bleu chef, Charles Curtis recently moved from Christie’s New York to Hong Kong to become head of wine in Asia for the company. It is a dream job for a wine connoisseur, and one that seems to have been a natural fit for Mr. Curtis.

Did you learn a lot about fine wines during your previous career as a professional chef?
I’ve always had a love of wine, and my first formal classes were twenty years ago when I was a student at the Cordon Bleu in Paris. My wife and I traveled extensively throughout France exploring different wine regions.

Have you enjoyed the new experience of matching the wines you love to Asian cuisine? What is your favourite pairing so far?

I love to match my favorite wines with the cuisines of my adopted region.  I think that claret is a great match with the roast meats of Guangdong cuisine and that both red and white Burgundy can be paired very well with the seafood dishes. A crisp champagne goes well with many Chiu Chow specialties, and German Rieslings are wonderful with spicier Sichuan cooking.

What prompted your career change from the restaurant industry to auctioneering?
The restaurant industry is very challenging and enjoyable, but because of the hours it is not well suited to raising a family. At the birth of my daughter seventeen years ago I left the kitchen to pursue a career in wine.

What inspired you to join Christie’s
I have always seen Christie’s Wine Department as the pinnacle of the wine industry, exclusively focused on the finest and rarest wine – it is a dream job for anyone in my industry.

Could you tell us more about your role as Master of Wine?
Because I made a career change at 30, I was eager to pursue education in my new field. I completed the certificate and diploma from the WSET (Wine and Spirits Education Trust) and then the Master of Wine in 2004, making me the 22nd Master of Wine to earn the title in the United States. I am still involved with the Institute’s educational programme and in the events committee, and I have served on the board of the Institute in North America.

What is your best experience so far at Christie’s?
We have had some landmark sales in New York and some fantastic events, but I will confess that the most exciting thing so far has been the transition to Hong Kong and especially putting together our exciting sale in March.

You have recently been appointed as the Specialist Head of Wine for Christie’s Asia and will be based in Hong Kong. How is the market here different from in North America?
The two have a lot in common. In North America I was based in New York, but traveled as widely as Canada and Brazil to meet clients and stage events. In Asia I will be based in Hong Kong, but I will work throughout the region to promote my sales and the love of wine in general. I think that there is great potential to expand the range of wines commonly sold in Asia and I look forward to introducing them as it becomes practicable.

In addition to your post at Christie’s, you have a very varied career as journalist, author, consultant and wine judge… What are the best wines you’ve tasted in your long and varied career?
The best answer to that is “the one I will have for lunch today”!  Seriously, some lovely highlights would include a perfect ’59 Lafite, ’34 Romanée-Conti and ’69 Dom Pérignon.

What is the first rule of wine collecting?
The first rule of wine collecting should be “Buy what you love to drink, but keep an eye on the investment value”. It would be silly to buy wines that one didn’t enjoy, but it would be equally foolish to purchase wines without regard to their potential appreciation. Ultimately, I subscribe to the old adage “Buy three, drink one free” – selling a bit of your wine that has gone up in value can allow you to drink some really fabulous bottles!

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Christie’s, the world’s leading art business, has changed the name and look of its exclusive real estate brand to Christie’s International Real Estate. Formerly known as Christie’s Great Estates, the change creates clarity in the global market & strengthens the ties between Christie’s art and its real estate businesses

“The synergy between the Christie’s auction house and the Christie’s real estate division continues to expand and we are proud to be part of this powerful, growing international network,’’ said Barbara Cleary of Barbara Cleary’s Realty Guild. “The Christie’s art and real estate businesses work hand-in-hand with each other and the brands lend extraordinary worldwide visibility and prestige to one another—and, by extension, to our sellers locally. With international buyers so active in our local market, due to the internet and proximity to New York City, this is yet another affirmation of our ever-expanding worldwide reach.”

The Christie’s International Real Estate web site has also received a complete makeover Christiesrealestate.com has a sleek new look and enhanced functionality, offering visitors an unparalleled look at international luxury properties and the local luxury real estate market.

Barbara Cleary’s Realty Guild is the exclusive affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate in New Canaan, Darien and Wilton. Other Affiliates in the immediate area include David Ogilvy & Associates of Greenwich, Houlihan Lawrence of Westchester and Brown Harris Stevens Real Estate in New York City.

“As the world becomes more interconnected, Christie’s International Real Estate is a name that immediately captures the essence of our business and will make us even more competitive in the global real estate marketplace; especially as our network continues to expand into more cities worldwide,” says William Zeckendorf, Co-Chairman of New York’s Brown Harris Stevens, whose firm brokers the most important sales in New York City, The Hamptons and Palm Beach. “Christie’s International Real Estate clearly conveys our close ties to the world’s leading fine art auction business; and this relationship is what makes our network so wholly unique.”

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A couple of significant price records were set at Christie’s Auctions
this past month. In New York in early November, a Roy
Lichtenstein painting titled “Ohhh… Alright…” was purchased for
$42.6 million, the highest price paid for a work by the artist (the
previous Lichtenstein high was $16.2 million back in 2005.) The
second record set was at an auction in Hong Kong in late November,
when a 14.23 carat pink diamond (right), known as the
“Perfect Pink” sold for 23.2 million. It was the most expensive
diamond ever sold in Asia. The high price paid for the gem,
which got its name because of its clarity and color, is partly explained
by the fact that there have been only 18 pink diamonds
bigger than 10 carats that have ever gone on the block in the 244
years of auction history.

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At Christie’s Great Estates 2010 Global Annual Conference in Toronto, Barbara Cleary’s Realty Guild was recognized in the Network’s inaugural Affiliate-of-the-Year Awards, earning first runner-up honors for brokerage firms in markets with a population of 275,000 and less.

(l to r) Kay Coughlin, founder of Christie’s Great Estates, Barbara Cleary, Zachary Wright, Senior Vice President, Christie’s Great Estates.

The exclusive affiliate for New Canaan, Darien and Wilton, the Realty Guild was recognized for its innovative and integrated marketing. One example cited at the ceremony, attended by the affiliate owners and managers, was an event that took place in New Canaan in May. In conjunction with the Summer Theater of New Canaan and Christies Great Estates, Barbara Cleary’s Realty Guild held a special event at Le Beau Château, a property located on 52 acres in New Canaan. The five-day event was entitled “Spring Awakening” and featured an interior design showcase, Broadway musical number performances,  and culminated in a special tasting of California’s hottest cult wines hosted by the Christie’s wine department. An exclusive Affiliate since 2001, the Realty Guild was also noted for its professionalism, marketing materials and market reports.

Launched this year, the Affiliate-of-the-Year Awards recognizes three Affiliated brokerages in small (population less than 275,000), medium (population between 275,000 and 1,750,000), and large (population over 1,750,000) markets. The recipient of the small-market award was Lila Delman Real Estate of Newport, Rhode Island. The medium-market award was won by Ken Jacobs of Sydney, Australia. The large-market winner was Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales of Manhattan, New York. The other finalists across the three categories included Van Sciver Realtors of Mantoloking, New Jersey; Profusion Realty of Montréal, Québec; IRG International Realty Group of Portugal; Harry Norman, Realtors, of Atlanta, Georgia; and Pacific Union International of San Francisco, California.

Christie’s Great Estates is the largest international network of real estate companies dedicated to the sale and marketing of luxury homes and is a subsidiary of Christie’s, the world’s leading art business. Christie’s clients who buy and sell works of art often request real estate services. To satisfy this demand, Great Estates, founded by Kay Coughlin in 1987, was acquired by Christie’s in 1995. Today, the Christie’s Great Estates global network spans more than 40 countries with 1,000 offices and approximately 34,000 brokers.

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Our new listing on 174 Soundview Lane is generating interest all the way in Texas! The popular real estate magazine DallasDirt , writing on its blog about the residence of actor Patrick Dempsey, mentioned the Soundview home in the following item:
Dr. McDreamy’s Home On Market, A New England Dream

“That is, the residence of actor Patrick Dempsey , who plays Dr. Derek Shepherd on Grey’s Anatomy, looking very New England (Dempsey is from Maine) but actually located in Los Angeles, listed for $3,595,000. But if it’s New England you want, I offer up this charming New Canaan Country Cape Cod frequented by the many movie stars who live in the area including Lauren Bacall and Glenn Close. This clapboard gem is a mere $2,295,000 on one of New Canaan’s most coveted streets and a short train ride out of NYC”

To set up an appointment to see our 174 Soundview listing, call the Realty Guild’s Brett Ciarlo at 856-8200.

174 Soundview is set on over four acres at the end of a private lane.

The heated pool and pool house.

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Logically speaking, you might not expect many sale price records to be broken in the current financial climate, regardless of the commodity. Yet that is just what has taken place in the last week at Christie’s, where works of art have inspired buyers to bid to incredible heights.   

On December 11th, a 35.56-carat, blue diamond known as the Wittelbach Diamond, sold for $24.3 million at a Christie’s auction in London. That smashed the previous record price for a diamond sold at auction, which was $16.5 million for a 100-carat diamond back in 1995.

The Wittelbach Diamond

Then, on December 16th in an auction titled “Icons of Glamour and Style,” a photograph by the late photographer Helmut Newton, called  “Sie Kommen, (Naked and Dressed), Paris, 1981″ went for a record $662,500, almost double the $380,725 it had sold for just last year. That was followed by a set of photographs of Marilyn Monroe by photographer Bert Stern, a collection known as “The Last Sitting,’’  that more than doubled the previous high it had been sold for, demanding a price tag of $146,500.

A photo from Stern's "The Last Sitting."

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