It's sometimes hard to believe gallery owners who tell you now is a great time to buy art, but you should pay attention when two of the world's top collectors say buy.Raymond J. Learsy and Melva Bucksbaum, who spend weekends in Sharon, CT, will be giving a talk at The White Gallery in Lakevlle on Saturday morning for anyone who wants to understand what makes great collectors tick—and pull out their checkbooks. “I’ve always felt that the art market marches to a different drummer than financial markets," Learsy recently told ARTnews, where he and Bucksbaum are perennials on the magazine's list of 200 Top Collectors. "People who are really interested in art are a little bit like smokers. You just can’t give it up. It becomes intrinsic to your life and you go and delve into resources that you might not have thought you had to continue collecting.” The couple (pictured above in a portrait by the painter Francesco Clemente) are known for their philanthropic approach to collecting and supporting young artists. "They buy according to their hearts, and they have good ones," the painter Pat Steir told The New York Times. Indeed the Times suggests that they are sui generis—"a little-discussed breed of collectors, the kind who blend a private passion for art with an invigorating public altruism. Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, the heiress who founded the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1931, was one. So, it seems, are Mr. Learsy and Ms. Bucksbaum." "The Art of Collecting Art" with Melva Bucksbaum and Raymond Learsy Saturday, April 25; 10 AM The White Gallery342 Main Street, Lakeville, CT; 860.435.1029 Free but reservations required because seating is limited.
