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THE TOP 25 Contributors: Chris Byrne, Barbara Davis, Kelly O'Connor, John Runyon. FAYEZ S. SAROFIM, HOUSTON LEIGH AND REGGIE SMITH, HOUSTON CHRISTEN AND DEREK WILSON, DALLAS L ast summer, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, pulled back the curtain on the collection of a man known foremost for his extraordinary patronage: Fayez S. Sarofim. The Susan and Fayez S. Sarofim Campus at the MFAH is one of the philanthropic marks that the Harvard Business-schooled money manager has made on his adopted hometown. The MFAH exhibition L e i g h a n d R e g g i e Smith have been seriously investigating contemporary art since 1988, the first year of their marriage. The couple became involved with CAMH, then MFAH, The Menil Collection, Art League, local galleries, and collector groups. Reggie's law practice shifted to international work, and they explored art overseas. Outlining recent acquisitions, Leigh cites, "Mid-century works by William Copley, Allan D'Arcangelo, Gladys Nilsson, Peter Blake, and John Graham … [and] many more C hristen and Derek Wilson — fixtures at global art fairs a n d s u p p o r t e r s of the DMA and i n t e r n a t i o n a l museums — prove that a home filled with art needn't be a cold gallery. Granted, their house is thoroughly modern — some might even say stark — but inside, it has all the warmth of a family residence. Their children were raised amongst avant- garde, fragile artworks by Donald women artists — several Cindy Sherman pieces, three works by Annette Lemieux, two paintings by Lois Dodd, a beautiful landscape by Jane Freilicher, and two works by Huma Bhabha." One favorite that they recently loaned to both the Moody Center and the MFAH is a sculpture by British/Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare. "This was an exciting acquisition for us, purchased at Basel in Switzerland from a London Gallery in the early 2000s, and at that time, a big step-up in what we were buying." "It's also the perfect mix of beauty and serious concepts." ("Three Centuries of American Art: Antiquities, European, and American Masterpieces — The Fayez S. Sarofim Collection") conveyed the intellectual breadth, depth, and importance of this vast trove of treasures assembled over six decades. MFAH director Gary Tinterow compares Sarofim to seminal collectors of the past centuries in American art: "William Corcoran in the 19th century, Joseph Hirshhorn in the 20th century, or, more recently, Alice Walton." The collection encompasses works by George Inness, John Singer Sargent, Burgoyne Diller, and Color Field and Ab-Ex luminaries Helen Frankenthaler, Lee Krasner, Kenneth Noland, and Robert Motherwell. Judd, Dan Flavin, Richard Phillips, Liam Gillick, and Texan Kevin Todora. "The collection is more a reflection of our journey then a strategic vision," Christen says. "Our goal has always been — and always will be — to have fun doing it." The resulting collection spans 1960s minimalism to today's emerging artists. "We tend to be attracted to large-scale works of paintings and sculpture — by Barkley Hendricks, Sterling Ruby, Eva Rothschild, and Rachel Harrison," Christen says. KEVIN TODORA Barkley Hendricks' Back in the World: The Last Almond Joy, 1982 Sarah Charlesworth's Available Light (Shiva Light), 2012 Winslow Homer's The Woodcutter, 1891 Carroll Dunham's Green Flowers (3), 2009-2010 (Continued from page 94) 96