The funny thing about celebrities—well, any collector, actually—and their art collections is that everyone insists that they bought the art themselves and only because they love it. They say that even when their collection ticks off all the right art advisor/trendy collection boxes. Here’s Donny Deutsch’s New York pad getting the Architectural Digest treatment. Damien Hirst? (Why, yes, I love Hirst—especially the Pharmacy stuff and maybe a spot painting.) Murakami? (Got one for the kids room.) Prince? (Gotta have a joke painting.) What about Warhol? (Did you know I came up through the ad business? I’m all about brands, baby.)
That includes a sidebar interview on the former ad man’s art collection where he says:
I’ve always gravitated toward what I love and gone with my gut.
AD: Were some dealers more receptive than others?
DD: Everybody was, because they like new people in the market. Most dealers recognized my name, and dealers want high-profile people to have paintings from their collections. When a piece appears on a well-known person’s wall, someone recognized as a tastemaker, it puts the dealer in a better position. But in the scheme of things, I’m not a serious collector. I actually have a great collection, which I’m very proud of, but nobody would ever confuse me with a Steven Cohen or some of the other big people out there.
AD: Do you have different goals from those collectors?
DD: I’ve never done this speculatively. What’s ironic is that my art has probably turned out to be my best investment, but I never did it to have appreciating assets. I did it because I love it and love living with it.
Donny Deutsch’s Modern New York City Townhouse (Architectural Digest)
Donny Deutsch Q&A (Architectural Digest)
