Not surprisingly for someone in my line of work, I like looking at art - a lot. I feel so lucky to be able to spend so much time touring galleries, studios and art fairs to research artworks to add to my clients' collections. Along the way, I've come across certain artists and specific pieces that have stuck with me, and I've mentally added them to a special collection: works that I would snap up in a heartbeat, should the opportunity present itself and my family were also on board.
Bird watchers often keep a “Life List,” a record of every bird species they’ve observed in the wild. I like to think of my imaginary collection as my own life list, comprised of artworks that I would love to live with and appreciate on an everyday basis.
My list is ever-evolving and almost completely impractical, but that's what makes it a fun exercise. Keeping an eye out for specific, special pieces for my clients and myself helps me focus when faced with the sometimes overwhelming scale of an art fair, for instance, and tracking those artists’ markets enables me to recognize a great deal when I see one.
Following this method, I've been able to acquire one or two pieces by artists on my list for my family’s art collection. Truth be told, I did sell them eventually (an art life list doesn't fund itself!) but to have been able to enjoy them every day in our family home, even for a year or so, was such a special experience.
I’d like to occasionally share about some of my dream acquisitions here in the hope that it may inspire other people to start thinking this way about collecting art. It also doesn’t hurt to put these wishes out into the universe, just in case!
Alex Katz
The first time I remember seeing Alex Katz’s work was at the 2008 Los Angeles Art Fair, which was then held at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. It was a lithograph called “Blue Umbrella,” one of Katz’s many portraits of his wife, Ada. This print has such an incredible cinematic quality, with raindrops falling in front of Ada’s face as she looks off into the distance.
In 2008 I was one year out of college and in no position to be buying art at that level, but I fell in love with that piece. It’s stayed with me and is my most vivid memory of that day, in spite of the mortifying fact that I literally backed into and stepped on legendary actor and noted art aficionado Steve Martin that day. (I’m sorry, Steve!)
A few times other prints in this edition have come up for sale at auction, and I’ve signed up to bid a few times, but sometimes the bidding got out of hand, or the image was faded, or the paper had mildew spots (foxing) or handling creases. It’s never been the right piece at the right time, but I’ve got my eye out!
One side benefit to having Alex Katz (and Ada) on my radar is that when I happened to see them in the flesh perusing the booths at Art Basel Miami one year, I recognized Ada immediately from her portraits! I didn’t say anything to them (I generally view celebrity sightings like bird watching – best from a distance, where I won’t disturb them) but it was a complete thrill, nonetheless. I was literally seeing a painting come to life.