By Phebe Wahl By Phebe Wahl | January 17, 2024 | Lifestyle,
From decorative objects and artifacts to antique cars, these chic collectors are powered by passion.
THE WHO
Throughout his career, Brian Sawyer has pursued architectural design, landscape architecture and interior design as complementary endeavors. After earning his Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Virginia, Sawyer sharpened his skills working with the Central Park Conservancy, where he worked on restoration projects, steeping himself in Frederick Law Olmsted and later at Robert A.M. Stern Architects, where Sawyer spent seven years, rising to the head of the landscape architecture department before going out on his own in to start Sawyer|Berson in 1999, with another Stern veteran, John Berson.
THE COLLECTION
“Mostly books and natural objects, minerals, shells, anything for my Kunstkammer,” Sawyer says of his collection, including gilt frames and religious objects, primarily South American, Spanish, & Chinese. “Some of my most prized possessions are Chinese carved Jade objects, Jade Bi and Cong and a ceremonial Jade axe blade,” he says. Other notable pieces include Gongshi (also known as scholar’s rocks or viewing stones) and an original hand drawing of the Hôtel de Crillon by its architect Jacques-Ange Gabriel from the Evangeline Bruce estate.
THE PASSION
“As a kid, I would collect small things I could gather or buy, which later morphed into purchases on my travels through the world and in flea markets from New York to Budapest,” Sawyer says. “For example, I bought my first flint arrowhead at a collector’s shop in southern Illinois when I was nine.”
THE WHO
Since founding his eponymous firm in 1995, interior designer Darren Henault has earned acclaim for his ability to create elegant spaces ranging from Paris to Palm Beach, Dubai to the Hudson Valley. Working with the best-in-class craftspeople and artisans from around the globe, Henault takes the approach of a couturier, thoughtfully executing every detail to create gracious and luxurious interiors. In 2020, Henault founded Tent New York, a home goods resource offering distinctive and beautiful pieces intended to be enjoyed from one generation to the next.
THE COLLECTION
“I didn’t know I was collecting portraits,” explains Henault. “I just kept being drawn to them again and again,” Henault says his portrait collection grew to include works by David Hilliard, Hellen van Meene, Kurt Markus, Jodie Jacobson and Doron Gild.
THE PASSION
“They capture a moment in a person’s life,” he says, explaining his love of portraits. “Studying the face, imagining how the person was feeling but also being aware of what I, as the viewer, assign to the person. That says more about me than the person in the photo. So it’s a study in human interaction but with only one participant animated. But, in addition, it captures a moment in time.” Henault shares that he has now twice commissioned artists to photograph his family. “I’ve had drawings done of the girls at various ages. Willa Shalit did my life cast when I was in my twenties and spending time in Santa Fe. It may seem narcissistic to some, but to me, it’s something else. People change, grow, and move through different phases. I like the documentation of moments in time of our lives.”
THE WHO
As the youngest daughter of company founder William Doyle, Doyle CEO Laura Doyle grew up in the auction business. During her almost twenty years at Doyle, she has spearheaded digital strategies and continues to implement new technological capabilities, evolving the company toward the future.
THE COLLECTION
“I see so much every day in our business,” shares Doyle, who grew up immersed in a world of collecting. “Often the things I have bought have been those with meaning to me—things from collections of people I have known or admired, by artists I have met, or that simply bring me joy,” she says of her collections. “One of the best parts of what we do is being able to see objects through the collector’s eye, particularly when they aren’t things that obviously go together but that somehow have a thread that connects them. It can be really magical. That is what I aim for in my home.” Some of her prized possessions include works by Paul Jenkins, John “Crash” Matos, Franz Kline, Mara DeLuca, and a pair of Tiffany Schlumberger Flame ear clips she bought at one of their auctions toward the end of COVID. “They remind me of the Nike/Winged Victory of Samothrace. I think of them as a symbol of challenges conquered.”
THE PASSION
“I was a passionate early collector of dolls and dollhouses when I was little,” Doyle says of her passion that started at an early age. “My dad did so much collecting for each of us, including having custom hope chests made by Pennsylvania Dutch craftsmen and filled it with gifts from the many important people in our lives. As I told my husband when we got married, I came fully furnished. We have mixed things that were collected by my parents with things we have bought ourselves,” she says. “As we say to our clients, collecting is a journey, and it is as much about the experience of collecting and the stories as the actual objects.”
THE WHO
Design historian Emily Evans Eerdmans is the founder of Eerdmans, a fine and decorative arts gallery. Known for her expert eye, she is also the author of several tomes on the history of design, including the newly published Mario Buatta: Anatomy of a Decorator and monographs on Madeleine Castaing and Henri Samuel. A close friend of Buatta, Eerdmans oversaw the dispersal of his estate, including the blockbuster auction at Sotheby’s. Eerdmans has a Master’s degree in Fine and Decorative Arts from Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London, and has taught design history at the Fashion Institute of Technology and the New York School of Interior Design.
THE COLLECTION
“I don’t consciously collect,” explains Eerdmans. “The different psychologies of collecting is fascinating. I’m not one of those who focuses on a specific type of object and thinks about how the group of object relate to each other as a whole. I tend to just buy what I love, and then when I stand back, I see I am consistent!” Eerdmans says she has a propensity for artwork by illustrators (such as Kenneth Paul Block, Rene Bouché and Jeremiah), ceramic vegetables and flowers, and Regency period decorative arts. “As a child, my first collection was Nancy Drew hard-back mysteries,” says the lifelong curator. “It was so satisfying to amass shelves of those yellow spines all in a row.”
THE PASSION
“I have a particular passion for my garden of ceramic vegetables, which was inspired by my friend Mario Buatta’s red bureau cabinet that was filled with the same,” Eerdmans says. “It includes pieces made in the 18th through 20th centuries, some important and some just stylish. For example, the slice of watermelon is by Mark Kirk Kelly, who was an Alabaman ceramicist whose work is pretty affordable still. Mario had an entire watermelon by Kelly, and this piece reminds me of him.”
Photography by: PHOTO BY JOSHUA MCHUGH/COURTESY OF SUBJECT; PHOTO BY WILLIAM WALDRON, STYLED BY MARTIN BOURNE/COURTESY OF SUBJECT;