In celebration of the life of Diane Besser


"Is there any greater nourishment than good art?" - Sandy Besser, February 14, 2004


Except for time away in college and the Navy, I lived in Little Rock, Arkansas, from 1944 till 1997, and, for the most part I was happy there. Diane and I built a vacation home in Santa Fe in 1986 after ten summers of vacationing at the Bishop's Lodge. We moved here permanently in 1997.

Our Little Rock friends were extremely curious about what drew us to this new home. Our answer: "the sky, the creative stimulation and the Hispanic community." They understood the first two things but not the last. It didn't matter. We understood.

We recognized that Santa Fe and all of northern New Mexico belong to the Hispanic people. I hope I never forget that. The pace of life, the architecture, the local cuisine is all theirs. I admire, and sometimes envy, their strong spirituality and physical safety net of family, their loyalties, modesty and ease of laughter, And, of coarse, I admire their outstanding art. Thus, this exhibition. I hope you enjoy these works as much as I do.

- Sandy Besser, Santa Fe, March 2004





For many people collecting is a passion--a never-ending quest for that specific thing (or things) that will help to make a collection more representative or complete. Collecting can be a means of connecting to objects, history, memories, places, or people. The journey along the way can be very personal because often, collections mirror or express the personality of their collectors.

Although Sandy Besser and his late wife Diane collected many things--Art & Antiques magazine named the couple as one of the top 100 collectors in the US in 2002-- their carefully selected works of contemporary Hispanic art stand out as one of the most intriguing, vibrant, aesthetic, political and passionate groupings in their home. It is one of the areas in which Sandy Besser continues to acquire. "I buy what I react to aesthetically," he says.

Although both had previously visited New Mexico individually, the Bessers started coming to Santa Fe with their sons in the mid 1970s. By coincidence they often visited Santa Fe around the time of Spanish Market (held annually the third week in July). While they always enjoyed the market, they rarely purchased anything, in part because purely religious art held little interest for them. In fact, the first piece of Hispanic art the Bessers purchased was a straw appliquéd box with no religious imagery by artist Mel Rivera. It was not until eighteen years ago when they built their house in Santa Fe and made plans to move permanently to Northern New Mexico that they commissioned their first piece of religious art from master santero Felix López. It was a bulto of San Isidro, patron saint of farmers that still stands in the dining room. Sandy Besser held a special affinity for the image since one of his grandfathers was named Isadore. By the next Spanish Market the Bessers had started collecting bultos.

From bultos, their attention went to the art of straw appliqué and the "quantum leaps" artists were making with form, color and execution. They developed a significant collection in this area, and because of their interest the couple began sponsoring the purchase awards for straw appliqué at Spanish Market. Sandy continues providing the award today as a memorial to Diane.
Retablos, the last category of Hispanic art the Bessers collected, intrigued them because of the connection between drawings on paper and those on wood. It seemed a natural path to take, given their personal interests and their existing collection of drawings. Diane, an artist, did charcoal drawings and watercolors of still lives and other subject matter. Besser had been "drawn" (pun intended) to drawings when he was fresh out of college and serving in the navy in San Francisco. There, in his spare time, he visited galleries, antique stores and museums "and looked at stuff." This exposure to art and creativity caused quite a personal reaction. Besser says: "That was the first time I had a desire for art. I wanted to own it." It was there that he made his first art purchase ever-- a pair of drawings of ballet dancers done by the director of the San Francisco ballet. He paid five dollars for them in a Union Street antique store. Ironically a few years later as he was passing through New Mexico on his way to Arkansas, he made his second art acquisition of another two drawings he spotted on a wall in a small Santa Fe grocery store.

Together the Bessers also collected Mexican and Latin American folk art and Contemporary Chicano and Latino art--all areas in which Besser continues to collect today. When interviewed for this exhibit, he stated that "Hispanic art triggered everything" in relation to these other areas of their vast collections. Besser sees a direct relation between his collections of Hispanic art and Mexican folk art in that they often share religious imagery.

Diane and Sandy Besser's interest in museums has been widespread. In New Mexico, not only have they been major supporters of the Museum of International Folk Art and the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, they both have served on boards and committees of the Spanish Colonial Arts Society and El Rancho de Las Golondrinas. Sandy is the immediate past Chairman of the Museum of New Mexico Foundation. It was a natural extension of their own interest in the ideas and processes involved in creating, collecting and displaying art as well as communicating the stories of the artists and their techniques. According to Besser: "Diane understood and reacted to the process used by an artist; she would be more intrigued by the difficulty of doing something than I was." Their amazing home has often been compared to a museum in the visual display of their collections. Regarding Diane's talents in this area he said: "She loved to arrange the collections in the house, but once she had them placed, she liked to keep them there. I was the opposite, I liked to move them around." As far as the procedure for new acquisitions to their collections went, Besser used to say they both had to agree on a work before they could buy it. He says that process worked most often but when it didn't, Besser admits he usually won out.

Born in St. Louis, Sandy moved to Little Rock, Arkansas at the age of eight. It was in these formative years that his fascination with museums began. While still in St. Louis he often spent time with his older first cousin "Buddy," whose parents lived near Forest Park and the City Art Museum. The boys frequently went to the park and the museum. Upon entering the building they would run up the deep set of stairs near the entrance, look around for the guards, and then push the nose of the mummy who resided at the top of the stairs. After this ritual, they would go through the galleries where Besser would listen to Buddy (who was only seven years older) explain the art. Buddy's influence on his cousin ran deeper still because he helped to form Besser's first official collection--postcards, soon to be followed by swizzle sticks and matchbooks. Many years later, an adult Sandy Besser returned to the St. Louis Museum of Art for a reception, ran up the stairs to see the mummy only to find that it had been donated to another institution.

Sandy has continued to metaphorically "push the mummy's nose;" that is to say that he continues to challenge himself, his collections, the artists and the institutions he works with. All of the artists represented in the exhibition, Arte y Amistad: Selections from the Diane and Sandy Besser Collection of Contemporary Hispanic Art, and in the larger Besser collection, push the boundaries of art. Whether it be in the choice of subject matter, material, technique, scale, tradition, and commentary, these are all works that set themselves apart as masterpieces. His eye is drawn to the traditional with a twist. Many examples in the collection reinforce that notion through aesthetic, humorous and subtle political sensibilities. Besser commissioned a number of examples in the collection with ideas developed in collaboration with the artists. The Bessers purchased other pieces from exhibitions, galleries, the annual summer and winter Spanish Markets and other venues. All were brought home to the Besser residence and displayed lovingly alongside master works from other local, regional, national and international cultures.

What distinguishes this collection and its collectors from others is the relationship between collector and artist. When Besser discusses his collection of contemporary Hispanic art, his eyes light up and he becomes even more animated than normal. Yet, his explanations speak more about the artists than the art. The stories and anecdotes are personal and deeply felt. Many of those interviewed for this essay commented that Sandy Besser has a rare quality as a collector, because he listens to the artists and he looks at their art. During the planning of the exhibition, every visit to Besser's house was punctuated by artists calling or dropping by to discuss their work. It appears to be the unofficial Besser Salon where art is discussed and critiqued and artists are mentored--something Besser always liked to do when he worked in the business world. When asked to comment on his relationship with the artists, Besser replied: "I never set out to have a charm bracelet of artists. Many collectors do, I don't. So many collectors are pleased to tell you that they shook so and so's hand. I don't care about that part." When asked why he and Diane were attracted to the Hispanic art of Northern New Mexico, Sandy stated there is "genuine warmth in the Hispanic culture" and he feels involved in the Hispanic art community and loves the social and family aspects of Winter Spanish Market. "It's a good feeling," he says.

The Diane and Sandy Besser Collection of Contemporary Hispanic Art is a promised gift to the Museum of International Folk Art. This extremely generous addition helps the Contemporary Hispano and Latino collection achieve its goal of focusing on the constant and ever-changing cultural connections and crossroads evident in Hispanic Art of the twentieth and now twenty-first centuries. As US populations and cultural demographics change, Hispanic and Latino art will increase in popularity and importance. In doing so it will contribute to a greater understanding of American multiculturalism and identity. Ultimately, perceptions will change, fresh traditions will be born, and new techniques will be devised. Artists and their collectors will be at the forefront of mutual understanding. To quote Sandy, "This show belongs to the artists and the Hispanic people. I want to see them get the attention they deserve."

Tey Marianna Nunn, Ph.D.
Curator of Contemporary Hispano and Latino Collections
March 2004


CONTINUE TO ARTISTS