Litchfield County Auctions & Appraisal's success story is the story of happy consignors and lucky buyers throughout the past two decades.

The roots of LCA stretch all the way back to 1965, when Weston Thorn traveled to Paris, fell in love with the architecture there and decided to apply to Columbia University’s Art History program. His Art History degree led to positions at The Drey Gallery and then Sotheby’s Park-Bernet where he was an appraiser, auctioneer and eventually director of Sotheby’s PB-84. In the 1970’s he and partner Yetta Pankin began “Pankin & Thorn Appraisals”; in addition to appraisals, he continued to settle estates, working with auctions and selling "to the trade"; eventually he opened his own art and antiques gallery “Weston Thorn Antiques,” in Bantam, CT.
Weston Thorn Antiques thrived throughout the 1980’s, and in 1994, following the demise of the Litchfield Auction Gallery, Mr. Thorn saw an opportunity for a new regional auction house in Litchfield, and so Litchfield County Auctions was born. Operating originally out of his New York City offices on East 84th street, weekend sales were held at local venues like The Forman School, The American Legion Hall and finally The Litchfield Fire House.

In 2000, the Upper East Side offices were closed and relocated to the second floor of Weston Thorn Antiques. Mr. Thorn maintained a home office at 322 West 72nd Street in the city. In 2004, LCA moved to its own quarters, a 10,000 square foot building that originally housed The Litchfield Auction Gallery, at 425 Bantam Road on Route 202 in Litchfield where they remain today.

Over the years the staff has grown considerably from Mr. Thorn, plus a few assistants and some part time helpers, to a regular staff that includes approximately 20 full and part-time workers. There are now six appraisers/catalogers in addition to Mr. Thorn: Nicholas Thorn, Vice President and Modern Art & Design specialist who began full-time in 1998; Tania Bongiolatti, Couture, Jewelry, Books & Generalist Appraiser, who began in 2001; Madelia Ring, American Folk Art, Furniture & Decorations Expert who began in 2008, Wendy Kuehne, Antiquities & Ethnographic Arts Expert; Lara Shirvinski, Fine Art, Furniture & Generalist Appraiser, who began in 2010 & David Pumphrey, Generalist Appraiser who will begin in 2011. There are office, sales staff, professional photographers as well as a sister company “Litchfield County Transport” who handles all of LCA’s trucking needs.

Finally, the scope and magnitude of the auctions have grown ten fold, while the sale process has evolved and adapted to the changing times. The first auction in 1994 was a strictly live auction, containing some few hundred lots with a total sales price of about $100,000. Subsequent auctions have grown in scale and dollar value, with as many as 1100 lots offered (1010 sold) in a single auction and over 1.2 Million in proceeds for a total sale. From 100% “Live” auctions, to auctions that had phone and absentee bidding to auctions that had images posted online and events that incorporated tag sales as well as auctions, as well as onsite sales that displayed property to its best advantage, LCA now does it all with each auction. The method of sale that has been refined over the past 15 years includes a two-week online auction with items displayed in a gallery preview accompanied by a five day tag sale for lesser items from the same estates and collections. While prices in the auction go up over the course of the sale, tag sale items are discounted throughout the five days. In the end, auctions tend to sell about 80-90% while the tag sales usually sell about 60-80%, with the remaining items usually of very modest interest or value.