Leading collector Marguerite Hoffman spoke with us about how acquiring art sustained her through grief—and led her back toward herself:
Collectors always say that buying art is central to their lives in some way or another. Marguerite Hoffman makes that idea visceral.
I’m going to start at the beginning. Do you remember the first time you encountered a work of art as a young person that made an impression on you? It was a really romantic kind of notion. I didn’t think of it like being in a garret in Paris or anything. But I was very clear about where I wanted resources to go. That may be the thread.I went by the Eugene Binder Gallery in Dallas in the mid-’80s. He was the first real gallerist I knew. He had a gallery in Dallas and Cologne, and that was very forward for Dallas at that time. He was doing a show of a painter named Richard Shaffer.
There wasn’t even discussion about it. It was just—of course you’re going to buy the Twombly, that breathtaking thing that came out of whatever he was exploring in Rome in 1957. Everything else has to catch up if there’s room. To this day, there are few creature comforts that would supersede [art]. I don’t know why that is so powerful. I really don’t.
In retrospect, I can see the path. But when I was right in the middle of it, I felt exposed. We’d just made this big announcement [to the Dallas Museum of Art alongside two other major collections], and then Robert died. At the opening of the exhibition [of our collections] called “Fast Forward,” I wore black. I remember it perfectly. Here was this huge celebration of what could be in the future, and I was just barely making it to the podium.
Then I had that epiphany when I went to TEFAF in Maastricht—there’s a world outside contemporary. I mean, the contemporary art world is scary, you know? I don’t know if you find it that way.And some of it’s distasteful. Boy, I’m really telling you stuff. But when I was on the debate team in high school, if you were against a team that was two guys, they always wanted to make the woman either a bitch or make her cry. And I thought of that all the time at first, being in the art world.
I remained good friends with Roland Augustine and Lawrence [Luhring], who represented him. We got together when I was in New York. And we were talking one night and I said, “You know what the dreariest part of my life is? Opening the mail. I hate opening the mail. It’s either a bill or somebody’s asking for money. Nobody’s writing you a love letter anymore. Nobody’s telling you anything new about themselves or asking how you are.” And Ragnar really needed some money.
It bothered some older collectors. I know it did. We asked someone else to join us and she said, “Why would I do that? You’re so young, Marguerite, please rethink this. Your life can change so much.” Little did I know. But the way we wrote the agreement, just the technical aspects of it, made it doable: [We were pledging] whatever’s in our contemporary collection [after both of us have died]. And with our gift—I don’t know if this is true for the other two—they can sell it all if they want to.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
An NFT Sale at Christie’s Brought in $1.6 Million, Giving Digital Art Collectors Some Hope in the Wake of the Crypto Crash | Artnet NewsAn NFT sale at Christie's brought in $1.6 million, giving digital art collectors some hope in the wake of the crypto crash:
Read more »
Art Industry News: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Is Raising Its Admission Fee to $30 as Inflation Comes for Us All + Other Stories | Artnet NewsPlus, Postmasters gallery is going nomadic, and museums across America enjoy a 'BTS bump' after pop star RM posts his art tour on Instagram.
Read more »
Christie's London to Paris Sale Makes a Steady $248 Million, Led by Blue-Chip Mainstays and a $12.4 Million Jeff Koons Monkey | Artnet NewsChristie’s London to Paris sale makes a steady $248 million, led by blue-chip mainstays and a $12.4 million Jeff Koons monkey:
Read more »
Economy is ‘definitively’ slowing down, market expert warnsMarket expert Dominick Tavella said that consumers will pull back on spending, which could lead to higher unemployment during an interview on 'Mornings with Maria.'
Read more »
Israeli Archaeologists Have Discovered One of the World's Oldest Mosques in the Negev Desert | Artnet NewsThe Israeli Antiquities Authority announced last week that one of the world's oldest mosques has been discovered in Rahat.
Read more »
In Pictures: A New Show at the Getty Museum Explores How Medieval Art Has Inspired Pop Culture, From Brothers Grimm to Game of Thrones | Artnet NewsJ.R.R. Tolkien, the Brothers Grimm, and Walt Disney meet their historic European predecessors at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.
Read more »