The Human Condition: The Stephen and Pamela Hootkin Collection Sept. 2014 | Page 53

SH: I took a few art history courses at the University

a prominent collector here in the United States who

of Wisconsin–Madison. I had an interest, but seldom

when he heard that we had an interesting collection

went to a museum. I hadn’t thought about collecting

called to ask if he and his wife could come to see it. I

art. As far as a background, starting young, going

replied, “Well, we don’t really do that. We collect for

to museums, no, that didn’t happen for me.

ourselves and we enjoy it for ourselves.” He pressed the
point, “You mean that

PH: On my side,

we can’t come over?”

growing up, my

I said, “Well, we’re just

parents didn’t take me

very private people.”

to museums either.

He replied, “Nobody

Somehow, however,

has ever said that to me

I did develop an

before.” We’ve always

interest in art—I drew,

kept a quiet profile.

I sketched, I took studio
art classes. Before I

PH: But we love having

met Stephen, I lived

students come to the

in England for a year
and taught economics

Kukuli Velarde’s Virgin Bride II, 1998, shares a corner of the Hootkin home with an
Anne Kraus vase and a Peter Gourfain sculpture.

at the University of

loft and exposing
them to the work we
collected. For many

York. I took a ceramics course and learned how to throw

years Steve Keister, who taught a course at Princeton,

pots. I wasn’t very good at it, but I had an opportunity

brought a group of students to our loft.

to learn and I enjoyed it. I had no idea that ceramics
would come to play such a large part in my life.
RP: Collecting can have a social component. Is that

important for you?

SH: Steve was a conceptual artist. But the students he

brought to the loft weren’t necessarily art students. We
enjoyed them so much because they asked the most
interesting and diverse questions. We were very open
to doing that kind of thing. We have also enjoyed

SH: People collect for different reasons. They like to

have their friends over. They like to show them what
they have. Groups like to visit other groups. We
have always been very private ab out our collecting
and have encouraged few people to visit us. We

great relationships with many of the artists whose work
is in our collection. We tried to support publications
that would help them gain exposure and contribute to
shows that they were having. But we always preferred
to remain under the radar, not be ostentatious about it.

collected for ourselves. I’ll never forget the story about

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