20 For 20: From Trash to Treasure, The Lost Tom of Finland Drawing

By Jason R. Roske

There are moments in this business when you know immediately that you’re looking at something different.

And then there are moments when that realization takes a little longer.

That moment, the kernel of realization, started during my initial walkthrough of the David Hood estate.

This story is part of our 20 For 20 series, reflecting on 20 memorable moments from our first 20 years at KC Auction & Appraisal Company. Over the years, we’ve handled thousands of estates, but a few stand out, and this is one of them.

The family pointed to a framed drawing and said, “Dad always told us this one was important.”

We hear that all the time. 

In almost every estate, there’s a version of that sentence. A parent, friend, or relative says they believe a particular item is important or valuable. And more often than not, it doesn’t translate into meaningful market value. Sentiment, market conditions, and reality don’t always align.

Just because someone says an item is important doesn’t make it so.

So, almost involuntarily, I approach those comments with a degree of skepticism. Not dismissively, but cautiously. Experience teaches you that you have to.

In this case, there was another layer.

Ten years ago, work like this was still very much outside the mainstream. Homoerotic art, even when created by an artist as important as Tom of Finland, was not widely embraced in the broader auction market. It carried hesitation. It carried stigma.

Today, that has changed. Major auction houses actively pursue and promote the category. There has been a feature film made about Tom of Finland’s life and work. Museums and collectors have engaged with the work more openly. Not universally, of course, but enough to fundamentally shift the market.

At the time, the idea that a drawing like this could carry significant value only added to the skepticism.

This time, that skepticism didn’t last long. 

This time, the family was right.

A Collector with an Eye

Before we ever got to that drawing, it was clear this was not an ordinary estate. 

What made it even more surprising was where the collection was located.

It wasn’t in Chicago, where David had spent most of his adult life. It wasn’t in Kansas City.

It was in Sedalia, Missouri, inside a non-descript suburban home in a quiet neighborhood.

David had moved back to care for his mother and remained there. Sedalia is known for the Missouri State Fair and as the end point of Texas cattle drives. Not for world-class art collections.

David Hood was a decorator and a serious collector. His home reflected it. Every room had intention. Every object had been chosen, not accumulated. He bought from high-end galleries and major auction houses across the country, and it showed.

This was a curated life.

We were selected to handle the estate over nationally known auction houses. That was exciting and I was more determined than ever to prove that this was a wise choice by the family. If we did this correctly it would not only be a successful auction but hopefully lead to other similar auctions in the future.

The Drawing

The piece the family pointed out stayed with me.

It was unmistakable. It was a piece of homoerotic art and there was a fair amount of that genre in this collection, but this piece was more polished, finished, and artistic. It wasn’t graphic just to be risqué or garish. There was a story. There was presence. There was gravitas.

It was a graphite drawing from 1984 of idealized male figures, confident, stylized, and unapologetically bold. If you know the work, you recognize it immediately.

Tom of Finland.

The drawing itself had a title, “Picnic for Morgan,” a name that suggested a personal commission, and hinted at a story we didn’t yet fully understand.

For those unfamiliar, Tom of Finland, born Touko Laaksonen, is one of the most important figures in 20th-century LGBTQ+ art. His work redefined how masculinity was depicted in gay culture, shifting it toward strength, confidence, and pride. Today, his drawings are held in major collections and pursued by collectors around the world.

But this piece felt different.

This wasn’t just a strong example of his work. It had been identified as a lost drawing, something that had fallen out of the known body of his work and quietly resurfaced.

A Story That Almost Ended

As we began researching the drawing, its history started to come into focus.

According to Tom of Finland XXL, a published monograph on the artist’s work, this drawing had originally been commissioned by a collector who later died during the AIDS crisis. After his death, the work was nearly discarded at the direction of a family member who did not want it.

It was supposed to be thrown away.

Instead, it survived.

At some point, David Hood acquired it, recognized its importance, and preserved it within his collection. Without that decision, this drawing, its history, and its place in the cultural record could have been lost entirely.

That is not an exaggeration.

Is It Real?

Moments like this are where experience matters.

Recognizing something is one thing. Confirming it is another.

We reached out to a gallery in Los Angeles with deep expertise in Tom of Finland’s work. They reviewed the drawing and confirmed what we had begun to suspect.

It was authentic.

Not just a strong example. Not just “in the style of.”

The real thing.

And more than that, a work that had been referenced in XXL, effectively placing Picnic for Morgan back into the documented body of the artist’s work.

What had once nearly been discarded was now re-entering the market with legitimacy, context and renewed attention.

The Auction

Once the catalog went live, the response was immediate.

Interest came in quickly, and not just locally. Questions started arriving from across the country, then internationally. Collectors knew what they were looking at.

This wasn’t just another lot in a regional auction.

This was a rediscovery.

When the bidding opened, it confirmed what we were seeing behind the scenes. The competition was real, and it was global.

In the end, the drawing sold to a buyer in the United Kingdom for $22,769.50.

At the time, that result was an auction record for a Tom of Finland drawing.

From a Joplin, Missouri estate and a Kansas City auction.

After the Hammer Fell

The story didn’t end when the auction closed.

In the weeks that followed, the drawing was featured in an article Missing Tom of Finland picture hammered at auction – QX an article written by Jon Voss for QX Forlag Magazine, a European LGBTQ+ publication, which highlighted the rediscovery and sale of the work.

What had quietly lived on a wall in Sedalia, Missouri was now part of an international conversation.

And that’s the part of this story that stays with me.

Not just the price.

Not even just the artist.

But the fact that something so important, so culturally significant, so nearly lost, found its way back into the world.

What Auctions Really Do

People often think of auctions as a way to sell things.

And of course, that’s true.

But at their best, auctions do something more.

They uncover.
They validate.
They reconnect objects with the people who understand them.

In this case, a drawing that was once nearly thrown away became a recognized, documented, and internationally collected work of art.

And it all started with a sentence we almost hear too often.

“Dad said this one had value.”

This time, Dad was right.

Final Thought

If you’re managing an estate or considering selling a collection, you don’t always know what you have.

That’s where experience matters.

At KC Auction & Appraisal Company, we’ve spent decades helping clients in Kansas City and beyond identify, evaluate, and present important items, from fine art and jewelry to coins and entire estates. As a seven-time Best Auction House in Kansas City and a trusted partner of Kansas City PBS appraisal events, we understand how to bring the right attention to the right pieces.

Because sometimes, the most important things are the ones that almost didn’t make it.

If you’re curious about what you might have, or ready to explore selling, we’re here to help.