Two Second Careers, One Focus: Collecting Art

An advertising executive and a former Wall Street investor who held a seat on the New York Stock Exchange recently purchased a Park Avenue apartment. The apartment was designed with their growing contemporary art collection in mind.Laurel Cutler and Theodore Israel Jr., who married five years ago, this is the second marriage for both, are starting their second careers — as art collectors. Instead of choosing stocks or predicting the future of the consumer marketplace, the couple now picks painters and sculptors who are emerging on the art scene.For years, Ms. Cutler’s world revolved around advertising and marketing, first at the Chrysler Corp. and later as a marketing executive for shampoo company Pantene and spaghetti maker Prego. During her time in the industry, as vice chairwoman of FCB/Leber Katz Partners, she was one of the highest-ranked and -paid women in advertising, according to Working Woman. In the 1992 list of the 20 best-paid women in Corporate America, Ms. Cutler was ranked no. 18, with a salary of $575,850.Mr. Israel was a founder and the executive vice president of Evergreen Funds. Wachovia Bank acquired Evergreen Funds in 1993; he retired in 1999.While they understand the stock market, when it comes to the art market, the couple does not rely on their own expertise. Instead, they consult with their art adviser, Jeannie Greenberg Rohatyn, who guides them through all of their purchases.“It’s a very young collection because it’s a very young marriage,” Ms. Cutler said.Both went to Great Neck High School on Long Island, but the couple did not meet until many years later, in 2001, when college friends set them up on a blind date. That date didn’t go so well, but they gave it a second shot.Now, Ms. Cutler and Mr. Israel, both born on December 8, have joined forces to create a new collection. While their personal collections are less valuable than the one that now fills their spacious seventh floor apartment, they did fill their respective former homes. Ms. Cutler described her original collection as “eclectic” — it did not include any contemporary art — and said there was a lot of gold and lead in it. Mr. Israel’s collection focused on folk art.“You collect until the walls run out. Then you buy another house,” Ms. Cutler joked. Presently, most of their individual collections decorate their country house in Sag Harbor.Every piece of art in the expansive living room — which also features an Art Deco Chinese rug, French and Italian mid-century furniture, and two modern sofas designed by Diana Viñoly — was bought jointly.The art works are cohesive, with a water and wave theme. The most striking — and largest — piece by far is “Sunset over Sea of Bliss” (2001) by Brooklyn-based artist LC Armstrong, who recently had a show at the Marlborough Gallery in New York. The acrylic-on-linen painting, finished with a glossy resin, is a bright and vivid work that looks dreamily fantastical with super-size flowers evocative of Alice in Wonderland. Upon closer inspection, the stems of the flowers are in fact bomb fuses.Two other psychedelic paintings that greet you as you enter the home are Sharon Ellis’s “Air” (2002) and “Dawn” (2002). Earlier this year the two paintings, which are part of a four-painting series, were on loan to the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. The L.A.-based artist, whose works portray the disparities of modern life, only paints four pieces a year. The other two works in the series, “Earth” and “Water,” are in two different private collections owned by collectors in Florida and Minnesota.Back in the living room, Will Cotton’s “Chocolate Wave” (2002), a painting of a magnified cup of hot chocolate with floating marshmallows, hangs over a custom-made brown marble fireplace by an Argentinian artist, Raphael Viñoly.An Elizabeth Magill painting of blue sky with branches, “Sky Branches” (2002), and an Asian style painting of a grey and white wave, “Wave,” by Augusto Arbizo, a Filipino, also hang in the living room.At the Armory’s art show in the spring, the couple fell in love with a sculpture done by new artist Tony Feher. The work is a colorful assortment of perforated potato chip bags. The artist creates pieces only from materials he finds.“He is so modern,” Ms. Cutler says. “His whole philosophy is why make colors when there are so many things out there so you don’t make waste.” The piece, hanging on the wall with a pin, is near a nickel, silver, and aluminum pipe sculpture, “Servants and Slaves” (2003), by Rita McBride.Perhaps Ms. Cutler’s most prized piece of art — and the most valuable of her own collection — is an engraved picture by Irving Penn, whom she did a lot of work with as a creative director of advertising at McCann-Erickson. Penn gave her the piece after she helped him figure out how to price his first show.Although their walls are getting quite full, the couple does not plan to stop collecting any time soon. “Once you’re a collector, you can’t stop,” Ms. Cutler said. They also do not plan to store any of their art. Instead, their six children — each had three from previous marriages — will be the recipients of these art investments.The couple takes their purchases very seriously, traveling to various art fairs around the world. With their combined insight, hopefully their artistic predictions are as successful as their market ones.kherrup@nysun.com

Two Second Careers, One Focus: Collecting Art

Two Second Careers, One Focus: Collecting Art

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