Feinstein's, Husband's Rare Himalayan Art Being Auctioned Off

A collection of rare Himalayan paintings and sculptures owned by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein and her husband, the late investment banker Richard Blum, will be sold at auction on March 20. 

The collection, valued at an estimated $3 million, will be sold in New York by upscale auction Bonhams, following a family fight over Feinstein's estate after her death in September, reported SFGATE.

According to Bonhams, 42 pieces from the power couple's art collection are to go up for sale, including two large portraits with an estimated value of up to $600,000 each and Nepalese paintings valued at up to $400,000 each. 

The longtime California Democrat senator and her husband left behind a multimillion-dollar estate, including their San Francisco home, valued at approximately $9 million. 

The artifacts, which span an 800-year period, come from Tibet, Nepal, and "Greater China," according to Bonhams. 

Some of the more expensive and rarer pieces include a portrait thangka (an ancient form of Buddhist art) from the late 12th or early 13th century, depicting an early Tibetan teacher, valued between $400,000 and $600,000, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.

Another item is a paubha, or traditional religious painting, dating to 1716. It depicts a Vaishnavite temple in Nepal and is estimated at $300,000 to $500,000. In addition, a 16th century copper inlaid alloy portrait of the lama Lowo Khenchen Sonam Lundrup from Tibet is expected to net between $400,000 and $600,000.

Many of the items were used in the couple's home in San Francisco, Bonhams press representative Sheri Middleton confirmed. 

The co-trustees of the family have been fighting over what to do with the "Himalayan stuff," the couple's properties, and automobiles kept in Aspen, Colorado, SFGATE previously reported.

Much of the collection came from Blum's love of Himalayan culture.

He founded the nonprofit American Himalayan Foundation after becoming interested in the region when Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Mount Everest in 1953. A message on the foundation's website after Blum's death in 2022 said that he had been "enchanted by both the people and the mountains" and made multiple trips that included visiting with the Dalai Lama. 

"The collection was integral to their lives, present almost without exception in every room of their homes and offices," Edward Wilkinson, Bonhams' global head of Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian art, said in the release about the auction. "We are honored to be entrusted with bringing it to auction."

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