Patricia Marshall was so thrilled by her art collecting journey that she decided to turn it into a job. Since 2003, she has worked as an art advisor to some of the wealthiest and most celebrated collectors in the world, including LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault and Mexico City fruit juice magnate Eugenio López Alonso. The art dealer Guido W. Baudache once told The Art Newspaper that Marshall’s “passion for art often outstrips that of collectors.” But that’s because she is one.
Marshall’s homes in Paris and Mexico City reflect her wide-ranging tastes, which mix European sophistication and American gumption. She appreciates envelope-pushing Los Angeles artists Mike Kelley and Jason Rhoades, but has reverence for the classics like Picasso, too.
Her next mission: convincing more French collectors how meaningful the collector-advisor partnership can be. “Putting together a collection is a form of art,” she tells Sarah Harrelson in the CULTURED editor-in-chief’s forthcoming book The Cultured Collector.
When did you first fall in love with art?
When I was 14 years old, during a Rothko exhibition in Paris.
What work sits by your bedside table, and why?
A Braque sculpture inherited from my grandfather, a work on paper by Giacometti (one of my favorite artists), and a Harry Callahan that resembles a Twombly from the 1950s.
How long does it typically take you to decide to purchase a work of art? What does your decision process look like?
Not long. For me, collecting art is like writing a book: I feel immediately whether or not a work is a great addition to my collection.
Where does the story of your personal collection begin?
It began with my encounter with Ghislain Mollet-Viéville; as a conceptual art gallerist, he greatly influenced my interest in conceptual and minimalist art.
What are your long-term goals for your collection?
To continue discovering young artists and to finally find the perfect Picasso work on paper I have been searching for.
How would you characterize your collection as a whole?
As an autobiography.
What was the first piece you ever bought—where and for how much?
A sculpture by Donald Judd from PaceWildenstein for $40,500.
Which work in your collection is the most valuable to you and why?
An On Kawara from the “Today” series. Time is everything in life, and it was a gift from someone very close to my heart.
How do you determine which artworks live in which house?
In Paris, I change the hanging every year to create a dialogue between works I have owned for a long time and new acquisitions. In Mexico City, I display only young Mexican artists.
I’m sure this changes, but which works are your current favorites?
The On Kawara Date painting and a Mike Kelley from his yarn dolls series.
How do you discover new artists or works? Who is in your inner circle of trust before you buy?
By visiting young galleries worldwide. Regarding my inner circle, I trust my own instincts and the galleries I collaborate with.
Is there a work that got away—one you still think about or regret passing on?
A Felix Gonzalez-Torres light string and an erotic drawing by Picasso.
Who or what has been the greatest influence in fostering your passion for art?
First Ghislain Mollet-Viéville, then the artists from the West Coast of the United States: Mike Kelley, Paul McCarthy, Jim Shaw…
What feelings would you like your collection to inspire in those who experience it?
A sense of risk-taking and commitment.
How many art fairs, exhibitions, or gallery shows do you typically see in a month?
As many as I can; I see a show almost every day.
What advice would you give to someone interested in beginning an art collection?
Visit great private collections, identify established and emerging galleries, go to museums, read about art, and do not buy based on hearsay or for speculation.
Describe your art collection in three words.
Sociological, political, and about time.
Every collector makes a rookie mistake or two—what was your most memorable?
Time will tell.
Which work in your home have you spent the most time looking at?
The Rosemarie Trockel that is hanging in my bedroom.
If you could instantly own the art collection of anyone else, whose would it be and why?
The Herbert Collection. It is such a radical, visionary, and challenging ensemble—a true page of art history.
This interview is excerpted from The Cultured Collector, a forthcoming book from Monacelli by Sarah Harrelson, the founder and editor-in-chief of CULTURED. To pre-order your copy today, click here.
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