Auction PR Publicity Announcements News and Information
Auction PR Publicity Announcements News and Information

Property from the Estate of Renowned L.A. Philanthropist Nancy M. Daly for Bonhams & Butterfields Spring Auction

Bonhams & Butterfields is honored to feature property from the Estate of renowned Los Angeles Philanthropist, Nancy M. Daly during the spring auctions of 20th Century Decorative Arts, California and American Paintings and Sculpture and Fine European and American Furniture and Decorative Arts.

The sales will include a strong offering of Wedgwood Fairyland Lustre, silver, works by Tiffany, California Impressionist paintings and American furnishings as well as one of the most important collections of Rookwood pottery to be featured at auction in recent years.

Following her move to Los Angeles in 1978, Nancy Daly quickly established herself as one of Southern California’s most energetic and prominent activists on behalf of abused and neglected children. In 1979, Mrs. Daly accompanied some of her Hollywood acquaintances to a party for the MacLaren Children’s Center, an emergency foster facility in Los Angeles County. The dismal setting she saw on her first visit to the Center galvanized her determination to harness the power, influence and monetary support of the entertainment industry to raise funds for some of the county’s neediest children.

Daly’s early work at MacLaren led to a much broader involvement in children’s issues, which culminated in the creation of what is now the county Department of Children and Family Services in 1984. She served on its advisory commission from the department’s founding until 1999.

Mrs. Daly’s public advocacy and philanthropy also extended to the arts, serving on the board of the Los Angeles Opera as well as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, of which she was elected chair in 2005. Privately, Mrs. Daly had a distinctly Californian “collecting eye,” filling her home with exceptional examples of California Impressionist paintings, American and European Furniture, as well as early 20th century design.

Nancy Daly’s untimely passing in October 2009 was a great loss to the Los Angeles community. Survived by three children, five grandchildren, friends and the thousands of children she helped over the years, Nancy Daly’s numerous contributions to the City of Angels will not soon be forgotten.

Bonhams & Butterfields is delighted to have been selected to present property from the Estate of Nancy M. Daly to a new group of collectors who will surely share her love of these objects of beauty.

20th Century Decorative Arts, Tuesday, April 20, 2010, 10am, Los Angeles
Preview: April 16-18, Los Angeles

California and American Paintings and Sculpture, Tuesday, April 20, 2010, 6pm, Los Angeles
Preview: April 9-11, San Francisco, April 16-18, Los Angeles

Fine European and American Furniture and Decorative Arts, Monday, June 14, 2010, 10am, San Francisco
Preview: June 11-13, San Francisco

www.bonhams.com/us20cdecorativeart