Where to sell PininFarina drawings?

[Chik]

Question for car / automobile memorabilia enthusiasts: I have a stack of race car concept drawings by PininFarina from 1998. All signed by PininFarina, some of which are also signed by Carlo Bonzanigo. Where would you suggest I go to sell them?

It is a somewhat unusual set because the concept, at a fundamental level, was a little ahead of its time because they are all meant to be full EVs, which is one of the reasons the designs were never realised.

[sk_tle]

If these drawings are unique/originals, I would contact Christie's. If not, I have no idea.

[vertical_doug]

Actually, in this case, the first port of call is not Christies, it is RM Sotheby's who specialize in car auctions. Too many variables regarding the drawings, so start there. Bonham's is the other place I'd enquire before Christies. These drawings may be for Pininfarina concept EVs like the Ethos 3 or thereabouts. But if these are also for other manufacturers, then really hard to say best way to sell. . . but you may want to check with the Triennale di Milano also.. they may want.

[Chik]

Thanks for the replies.

Before they caught up to the internet age, some places (in NY) that one might have considered are Sotheby's Arcade or Christie's East -- does that betray my age? Anyway, if an auction house, I think it's better to go to a Tier 2 house like Bonhams, Artcurial, Tajan, etc, or specialist units like RM Sotheby's. In any case, with the seller's fee being what it is these days, I would prefer to sell them to a dealer (or a collector) for less money but also, crucially, less hassle.

BTW, they weren't commissioned by manufacturers but by would-be series creators. It was a comprehensively ill-conceived project, but the drawings are easy on the eye.

[vertical_doug]

Thanks for the replies.

Before they caught up to the internet age, some places (in NY) that one might have considered are Sotheby's Arcade or Christie's East -- does that betray my age? Anyway, if an auction house, I think it's better to go to a Tier 2 house like Bonhams, Artcurial, Tajan, etc, or specialist units like RM Sotheby's. In any case, with the seller's fee being what it is these days, I would prefer to sell them to a dealer (or a collector) for less money but also, crucially, less hassle.

BTW, they weren't commissioned by manufacturers but by would-be series creators. It was a comprehensively ill-conceived project, but the drawings are easy on the eye.

Selling at Auction is not that hard, and you can hang on to the catalog. No one will be doing you any favors in the art market, so just do whatever is most fun for you.

The rules of normal trade don't seem to apply to the art market. So if they will steal from the big people who they should be afraid of, imagine what they do to us little people.

[hampco]

How about Bring a Trailer?

[Chik]

How about Bring a Trailer?

Never heard of them (but then again, I'm not their target audience) so I had a browse. Interesting option if they are happy to list memorabilia. Thanks.

[hampco]

Any preview pix you’d care to share?

[Chik]

Any preview pix you’d care to share?

I'll try to snap and upload a few in the next day or two.

[thollandpe]

@Chik, what are you trying to do with these, make some money or place them in a good home?

Because if it’s more the latter than the former, you could consider loaning or donating them to an auto design school. Like the Cleveland Institute of Art. I only know that one because my kid is a graduate (but in industrial design).

[vertical_doug]

@Chik, what are you trying to do with these, make some money or place them in a good home?

Because if it’s more the latter than the former, you could consider loaning or donating them to an auto design school. Like the Cleveland Institute of Art. I only know that one because my kid is a graduate (but in industrial design).

I always view donations as privatization of tax. The IRS has the most lenient system- if you donate to a public institution with charitable status, you can deduct the full fair market value. If you donate to a private instituion without charitable status, it is at cost. You get a five year carry forward.

European countries are not quite so generous. Chik needs to investigate his tax resident country's rules.

If Chik was in the US, I think your proposal would net him more after tax than any other solution while also being the simplest..

[Chik]

@Chik, what are you trying to do with these, make some money or place them in a good home?

Because if it’s more the latter than the former, you could consider loaning or donating them to an auto design school. Like the Cleveland Institute of Art. I only know that one because my kid is a graduate (but in industrial design).

The Missus and I both have past US design school affiliations albeit not with ones that have a specific programme for automobile design (she is a Parsons alum, and I was an occasional student / voyeur at RISD whilst I was doing my degree next door) so we did have a passing thought about donating. As Doug pointed out, there's no tax advantage for us since we live across the pond although that's not driving our decision. We may still consider donating to a French museum with which we have a personal tie, provided they're interested. However, we would feel better about selling them even though it's not about the money -- this sounds odd, but it's a little difficult to explain without getting into some terribly boring personal stuff.

[Chik]

Any preview pix you’d care to share?

Not the best pics as I took them using my vintage iPhone...

Just to give you an idea of the size, the drawings are all A3 (279 x 420 mm). Most are mounted on A2 (420 x 594 mm): 16 mounted, 8 unmounted.

A541A71D-B219-4DC6-8107-DD1E563DD3D6.jpg
A8AC9545-C0A7-4E89-9CD7-C69F0FA646A6.jpg
277FDCB7-A3F6-41DF-A601-0CEBEA59959D.jpg
5CEDECCB-904F-4CFC-9ED9-69F5622ABE7B.jpg