2026 Lunch & Learn

Thursday, September 17, 2026

EVER THOUGHT ABOUT DONATING ART?
Joe Baratta & Kathy Wong of Bonhams will present Treasure or Trouble, an enlightening discussion on the current market for traditional art and furniture. As the market moves towards a more casual aesthetic, is there still interest and value in traditional art and antique furnishings? Kathy Wong will discuss the current pulse for the California and Western Art market and what is interesting to a new generation of collectors. Joe Baratta will discuss the market for items that have been held for generations, from silver and table items to the market for “brown furniture.”

Join us!

Thursday, September 17, 2026 10:30-I1:30 TALK | 11:45-12:45 LUNCH

Santa Barbara Club, IIO5 Chapala Street
(Non-members: please park in the lot across the street)

$56 per person
Includes lunch, cookies, and lecture

Kathy Wong is Senior Director, American Art, based in Los Angeles. She has worked as a fine art specialist for over twenty years at the international and regional auction levels on the East and West coasts, including Skinner, now in the Bonhams network. She joined Bonhams in 2015 and has been a Specialist and Cataloguer in Impressionist and Modern Art, California Art, American Art, and Western Art. She launched The Art of Hawai'i in 2023—the first thematic sale at the international auction level of Hawaiian fine art—and contributed to the success of several dedicated Western art sales including The L.D. "Brink" Brinkman Collection and The Eddie Basha Collection auctions. Kathy is a native Californian and received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley in the History of Art. She has completed the 15-hour National USPAP course and has been a participating appraiser on PBS' Antiques Roadshow.

Joe Baratta is SVP, Head of Trusts & Estates, North America at Bonhams based in the Los Angeles office. Joe works closely with an extensive network of professional fiduciaries, trust officers, attorneys, and client advisors on estate collections ranging from fine art and jewelry to collectible motor cars.
Since joining Bonhams Joe has been responsible for bringing to auction "A Perfect Jewelry Box," a white-glove jewelry collection which achieved $6.5M, including a 35-carat diamond that brought $2.7M and a 22.1-carat that sold for $1.62M; the “Future Classics Collection” of motor cars sold at The Quail Auction in 2025 for $32.2M hammer including a 2020 Bugatti Devo that sold for $8M; the Mary Steinbeck Dekker Family Collection of her brother John's literary material; the important collection of American furniture and paintings, carpets, and Native American works from the estate of William Dana Lippman; Helen Frankenthaler's "Alchemy," which achieved almost $3M from the estate of Dana and Chuck Maltz; and Richard Diebenkorn's "Green," which brought $542,000.