' I wasnt quite sure what that meant, just that I wanted to work with them.. Because we put on exhibitions of every kind. Since then, Dede has built a formidable collection of Impressionist art, and has continued to help the de Young and its sister museum the Legion of Honor grow their own. It was part of a Christmas gift to my now husband, Kurt. I cant imagine having nothing to do but lie there and read a book. So, whats the difference? She recounts a recent party for museum directors that took place in the de Youngs tower on one of those rare San Francisco nights where there was no fog: It was so beautiful. } Diane "Dede" Wilsey. What were we going to do with the art if we didnt [rebuild it]? In his book, 34-year-old Sean Wilsey blames his stepmother for the breakup of his parents' marriage, and, in part, for his spiral into delinquency.
Dede Wilsey, who grew up going to her family's newport home, beaulieu, photographed with her son todd }, 100); To Wilsey, this is all in a days work and not something she brags about. Wilsey and I are 30 minutes into an hour-long conversation, and I . She specializes in portraiture and creates images that feel like intimate X-rays, pictures full of textured physical details set against back-drops of personal history. var $modal = $('#ouibounce-modal'); TaxID#26-4008029. My parents always had friends around and there was a lot of entertaining, and summer was spent hereall summer.. But its great, I love it. Great. Trainas security detail isnt for every ambassador, only the Israeli Ambassador and the American Ambassador require the extra protection because of ISIS. . } Arriving at their historic, Victorian-style Oakville home, its easy to understand why the pairknown for their notable art collection, philanthropy and omnipresence on the San Francisco social scenepack up their kids almost every weekend and head here to unwind. The home saw an addition by Crabb in the 1880s and a near total rebuild after a devastating fire more than a century later, in 1997. Crabb, a Napa Valley pioneer who founded the To Kalon winery. Napa; SF Insider: Things to do; Wine Country; Monterey-Carmel; Real Estate. Dede has had a residence in the heart of the Napa Valley since 1970. Romance novelist. In my bathroom, I have dog portraits and Chinese export porcelain. Historically, its mind-blowing, she says. } }); I was at boarding school when my parents (pictured here) called to say, We just bought a vineyard in Napa Valley! // Handler for close signup button The old house had less room, but was very charming., Even with its updates, the Napa Valley getaway is a far cry from the couples primary residence, in Pacific Heights. //exdays*24*60*60 if (paywallPagesRegex.test(window.location.pathname)) { + '
' This is a carousel. What Im trying to do is make the city a better place. Her profiles of personalities have included fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and Emanuel Ungaro fashion house owner Asim Abdullah, to name a few. Christopher Kostow, seen herewith his wife Martina and their two daughters, grew up near Chicago in a food-forward family that, he says, traveled to eat. After working in some of the best kitchens in the world, he opened the Restaurant at Meadowood in St. Helena, which has been awarded three Michelin stars. Eileen Kinsella, //position at bottom of screen A well-known donor to Bay Area causes and an heiress to the Dow Chemical fortune, Wilsey recently stepped down from her 21-year position as the president of the San Francisco Fine Arts Museums board. San Francisco jet-setter Denise Hale, who was once married to Hollywood director Vincente Minnelli, has seen her share of friends become the subject of tell-all books. //after successful signup, hide the signup bar after 5 seconds The house we built together in San Francisco is very contemporary, with my photography collection and objects weve inherited and purchasedits a more sophisticated mix, in a sense, Trevor says. + '<\/style>' Jo Lawson-Tancred, + ' @media (max-width: 575px){ #ouibounce-modal {display:none !important;} }' Its as if shes seeing it for the first time. script.crossorigin = "anonymous"; if (prefix == undefined) { } In Europe, she came across many who said they no longer wanted to visit SF because its filthy.
Dede Wilsey's House in Napa, CA (Google Maps) (#2) Its something I never thought I would buy. Festival Napa Valley was founded in 2006. Dede Wilsey's House (Google Maps). Unless you're Sean Wilsey, who wrote a book and is bringing it all out into the open. Old, young, every ethnic group. In a six-month project with The Chronicle's investigative team, she recently revealed the misleading practices of a San Francisco fashion charity that took donations from wealthy philanthropists but donated little to the stated cause of helping the developmentally disabled. if (jQuery(window).width() > 619) { email: /^([a-zA-Z0-9_\.\-])+\@(([a-zA-Z0-9\-])+\. "It's not a gossipy tell-all, it's a coming-of-age story about a child surviving a life of conspicuous consumption," Maupin said in a telephone interview from New York, where a film based on his latest novel, "The Night Listener," is being filmed with Robin Williams and Toni Collette. Dede Wilsey. I was in Maastricht to lead a group from our museum [the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco]a building committee, because we were building the de Young Museum at the time. She was a part of the search committee that found the new director of the, Another thing she loves about the museums? Dede Wilsey. They are confident and bold in how they live. "I love that quality in anybody because I think you have to be brave to tell the truth in life," Montandon said. I now have an entire bathroom, dressing room, bedroom at my house in Napa covered in these paintingsjust wall to wall. Some of the trees are 130 years old. Its not random. I must sit here behind this guard. And I said, Fine. Ive forgotten which museum its in, but a Degas of the ballet studio with all the dancers in tutus. SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE PHOTO BYCHRISTINA KOCI HERNANDEZ CAT, Mr and Mrs Alfred Wilsey And I typically react when I see something and it touches me. I think everyone makes mistakes in the heat of the passion of buying something. Caillebotte. } }, Mother of Sean Wilsey. He did drugs, got in fights at boarding school, stole money and even took his uncle's gun, at one point. That's the most powerful kind of memoir. Along the way, theatrical and visual arts experiences expanded into . Reading between the lines, a reader could glean that rich people have problems, just like everyone else, but have the money to solve their troubles differently -- sending problem children out of their lives, in hopes that someone else can fix them. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Al Wilsey died in 2002 at the age of 82. if (getCookie(cookieNames[i]).length) { Festival Napa Valley is presented by Napa Valley Festival Association, a nonprofit organization with a mission to bring the arts to all through world-class performances and inspiring arts education programs. Julie Baumgardner, map, photo credits | site by tmarks | dev by sa8. I bought a [Mary] Cassatta woman with a baby. The home was built in the 1860s by H.W. 2023 Napa Valley Festival Association, a nonprofit public benefit corporation. His addition to our metal arts team sharpened our offerings and his popular programs have proven to be a cut above! ouibounceAPIaccess = ouibounce( }, She is the chairman emeritus of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. He has two guards with him at all times. + '<\/div>' Nimbus Arts "My parents always had friends around and there was a lot of entertaining, and summer was . checkCookies(); Wilsey recently spoke to Artnet News from her San Francisco home, where commissioned portraits of her dogs share wall space with Monet and Kandinsky. However, Montandon, reached by telephone at her home in Beverly Hills, said that she had read it and that her son was brave to write it. }; } // Does the email match our regex?
What I Buy and Why: Collector Dede Wilsey on Why She Prefers to Hang What work do you wish you had bought when you had the chance? I started to research my book, From Napa with Love, which was published by Abrams in September, by reaching out to the areas most colorful characters, people I grew up around or just admired, like film-maker and writer Roman Coppola, interior designer Ken Fulk, and Elizabeth Swanson, my wonderfully talented mother. $modal.find('.form-row').hide(); prefix = 'artnet_newsletter_'; Which works or artists are you hoping to add to your collection this year? There was a sham wedding to trial lawyer Melvin Belli (who'd represented Jack Ruby) in a Shinto ceremony in Japan that was annulled after 36 days; Montandon wanted the marriage to be official, but Belli refused to have it legally recorded. But that doesnt mean Wilsey, or any of her family, will hide. She married shipping magnate and art collector John Traina in 1965, and had two sons with him (Todd and Trevor Traina). Shortly after our conversation, FAMSF announced that the former director, Max Hollein, would be replaced by Thomas P. Campbell, who was the director of New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art from 2009 to 2017. I asked them to tell their Napa Valley stories and to describe the places, things, and experiences they love about the valley. } if (!expirationMinutes) { Elizabeth and Clarke Swanson. 88. Hes an Australian. He began to fantasize about her sexually as a teenager, trying to see her through his father's eyes. I knew the house prior to the fire, and I was so crazy for it, says Alexis, who moved from Florida with her family to the region in the mid-1980s. })(); artnet and our partners use cookies to provide features on our sites and applications to improve your online experience, including for analysis of site usage, traffic measurement, and for advertising and content management. $('body').on( 'click', '.close-signup', function(){ },20000); //20 seconds By Carol Hyman. It is a peculiar feeling to think its not your father, its your son.. return ""; I love this picture by artist Rupert Bunny. } expiration_minutes: 5 setNewsletterCookie('recentlyShown', 1); On March 22, local booksellers gathered at the Presidio for a private meet-and-greet with Wilsey, an editor at large at McSweeney's Quarterly -- a hip, nationally distributed literary magazine co-founded by San Francisco author Dave Eggers. var ctx = this; '
