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Joan and Bernie Spain

$oan and Bernie Spain are passionare

$ collecrors oIAmerican arr. They have

$ built a seminal collection over rhe pasr* " lew decadesi one rhat would be rhe enryof any museum. They recently moved intoNew York's Plaza Hotel, which has been

resryled as grand apartments with soaring

spaces and mesmerizing views of CentralPark and Grand Army Plaza.

j:ll'ic l--c:.!ri.,:!': \(/here are you fromoriginally and hoi,v did you decide onThe Plaza?

ils:rnir $grai;r; Joan and I live much ofthe year in Philadelphia and have also

had a home in Florida, but we soldthat-New York has become our 'new

Florida.' It's our escape...

-]*,;;a S5:;l!r:: The galleries here were partof the appeal, that and the museums.

l{-l: Your collection is magnificent. Have

you worked with any art consultants or artdealers in its formation?

i:-!: Joan takes credit for most of thervork in creating the apartment, andlve almost always make all purchasingdecisions together.

..r*!; Thank you, dear, but we did have helpon the interiors, the built environment, ifyou rvill, from Renee and Don Freeman,

of Freeman Interiors in Philadelphia.iii-i: And Steven Diamant of ArcadiaGallery in New York was, and is,

instrumental in helping us form the nexus

ofthe collection.

i,l-: I firmly believe in team efforts and ingetting the best advice possible; especially

if its for the long haul. Speaking of which,when did you begin collecting?

,!1: Soon after we were married; in smallways, very simply.

ir{,: That's the way to make it happenand for a collection to grow. One needs

to begin slowly and to buy what youlove. )

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The large canvas over the bed in the master suite, reflected in the side mirror, is Symphony in White by )eremy Lipking.

"It's not just aboutthe money or cost,

itt about the loveand passion behind

the collection."

- Bernie Spain

The center hall of the apartment displaysThe Realization by Robert Bender.

76

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ln the master bathroom, in the foregrou nd,is Reflections by Malcolm T. Liepke, and in the backgrou ndis Female Nude by Michael Grimaldi.

i ,, Agreed. It's not just about the

money or cost, itt about the lor.e and

passion behind the collection. We've been

fbrtur-rate in that rvhen rve begar-r ourcollection, some of the best art u.as stillaffordable and this gave us a tremendous

platfbrm or.r which to build.\7e',.ierv collecting as art itself; rvhe tl.rer

bu,ving frorn art students or top g:rlleries.

Itt the chase, tl.re hunt that gives us so

r-nuch pleasure.

,. , The more that you see and that yor-i

expose yourselves to, the greater level

of sophistication and enjoyment of the

collection and the collecring process.

. 'r Our trvo childlen and grandchildrenalso have the collecting'bug' and theyare irrvolved in the collection as well.

i I ., Family collcctions are the best-collecting becomes a group process that

involves different generations and thus

different vieu.poit.tts. That's refreshing.

Ar-rd',vhat is your orvn personal sryle?

;:::. Joan is a fashionista. She has amazir.rg

personal style, elegance and taste. I just go

alor.rg for the ride.

'r .,, : gsLlnd5 like the honeyrnoon is still

going strong.

1',, That it isl

ti',. We collect Ruhlrnann furniture as

well as pieces by Andre Arbus and other

masters of French Art Moderne.:i ' The first piece of art that we purchased

years ago was a pen and ink study ofonions. It now hangs in our laundry room,

but originally was in the living room.

. , , Yes, but that's tl-re mark of the true

collector.:. : \tre bought with our heart ar.rd soul,

not for any other reason. Joan and I bothagrce on most everything, it's true.

, laste runs along tl-re sarne line...' \7e buy American figurative works as

rvell as those from Cr-rbism to Pop Art. tMe

constantly fifove ouf art around to gafnefa fresh perspective., , Speaking of perspective, we chose ThePlaza as rve love the neighborhood. The

location is key.

;::, Art is everl'where. We stroll in and

out of galleries on weekends. And we

are snap buyers. Our philosophy is if we

love something ther.r it's probably betterto buy now. For antique furnishings,

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Picasso's Portrait of Jacqueline proudly displayed in the living room,beside it is a statue by Boris Lovet-Lorski.

it's Karl Kemp-we purchase a lot ofthings from him. Wall sconces, forexample, and our bedroom suite of blacklacquer furniture and metal chairs rvithdecorative borders.

i:{.,: So you buy from dealers with a historyof quality.

.{5; Exactly. It rnakes a tremendous difference.

Regarding art-we both love the more

extfeme. Large scale is better for us.

-ir{": Does this present a problem?

il$: Sometimes, but then we move.

i'.i-: \ffitness the Plaza. tVhat's better, the

art or the physical space?

jli: Sometimes both are equal and balance

out.115: Directly outside our windows is livingsculpture. Itt the panoply of architecture

thar's so classic Neiv York.j-rr And Central Park is an oasis. Itt ourown brilliant stroke of green.

i:{l: Sounds like art to me. o

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Eric Cohler, presidenr

of Eric Cohler Inc,,

holds a masteri degree

in Historic Preseruation

fom the ColumbiaSch o o I of Architecture,

He won a Designer

of the Year Au,ard in1998, and in 2000 the D6D Buildingin Neru York recognized him as one of the

26 leading daigners in the U.S. Eric has

appeared on CBS Morning and Euening

News and CNN Style and he is a featureddesigner on the Home & Garden WNetruork.

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A Central Park view from the famed Plaza Hotel in New York City.