Lee LaPlante, former New York Art Dealer, loves the daily challenges and exciting pace of residential Real Estate.
She holds a B.A. from Connecticut College, where she majored in Art History and Studio Art. Extensively well traveled and well-known for her packed-to-capacity art openings in Soho, Lee relocated to Malibu from Manhattan, where she was formerly the director of Lee Arthur Studio, a contemporary art gallery founded in 1991. The gallery promoted cutting edge contemporary artists from the U.S., South America, Europe, India and Asia.
“Starting the gallery in a loft space from scratch and building up an international following, with reviews from well known critics in highly influential publications such as ArtForum, Art News and the The New York Observer, was a great learning experience, and one which I readily transferred to my real estate marketing and sales expertise.” Aside from developing sales, marketing and client relations, the gallery focused on international exhibitions, consulting and curating services.”
Ms. LaPlante’s work took her annually to Hong Kong and Malaysia, with regular stops in Los Angeles, where she stayed with her eldest brother, John Arthur, a Managing Editor for the Los Angeles Times, and his family in Santa Monica. In 1994 she attended an art opening in L.A. where she met Leo LaPlante, a builder and master woodworker, who has been a resident of Malibu since 1978. They were married in New York City in 1996 and currently own a home in Malibu.
Lee made a decision to enter the real estate business in Malibu while selling the Soho loft that housed her gallery in New York.
“The training I had as an art dealer, and the thousands of people I met from all over the world in my twelve years in Manhattan, proved to be an excellent foundation upon which to build a real estate business and clientele. I was familiar with the market’s ups and downs in northern and southern California as two of my brothers and their families have lived on the west coast for years”.
In addition to her demanding career, Lee has become actively involved in several charities and non-profit arts groups, including Free Arts, an organization helping children cope with difficult childhood experiences through the healing power of art, The 18th Street Arts Complex, promoting international art exchange and Cornucopia Farms/The Malibu Agricultural Project, which founded Malibu’s first Farmer’s Market.
Lee has sold over $11,200,000 worth of Real Estate in her first four years in the business. In addition, she has served as a Director of the Malibu Association of Realtors for the past two years and is Vice President for 2002. Lee is a member of the National Association of Realtors as well as the Southland Regional Association of Realtors. She is also a certified Relocation Specialist. Lee can be reached at Coldwell Banker’s Colony Beach office.
Lee Laplant – Coldwell Banker – Malibu Colony Office
23676 Malibu Road,Malibu, CA 90265
Phone: (310) 456-3638 x 370
Direct: (310) 317-8370
Fax: (310) 456-5872