Leaving a Family Legacy -- Pygmees Sous La Lune

Since being diagnosed with lung cancer I have begun to think about my legacy and what I am going to leave behind for my children and grandchildren. Of course, I am hoping to beat the cancer and live long enough to enjoy the next stage of my life. I am looking forward to watching Paula, June and Jessie marry and start a family life themselves. This is the culmination of everything Yoko and I have worked for to date. But if I am not there, what have I left behind and what will they have to remember me by? What will be my legacy?

My Uncle Sam has a log-cabin retreat with 100 or so acres in a beautiful spot in upstate New York. I have often told Yoko that I would love to leave land to my family....a family estate. My wife is so practical, however, she really does not buy it. My dream would be to have a beautiful 100 acre working horse farm. This would be a place to retire -- perhaps in Taos New Mexico or someplace like that, and then could be passed on from generation to generation. Yoko says: "well, who is going to pay for the upkeep? What about the taxes and insurance? And my response is, "uh... its just a dream. .. I have'nt worked out the details yet. " But she's right... and now I may not have the time to realize that dream -- which, until now I figured was 15 years or so away.

We use to have a place in Jackson Hole that we bought in 1989 or 1990 for a vacation home/ investment. I sold it in 1994 to invest in my own start-up company. Of course, the start-up is now worthless and the place we had at Jackson Hole is probably multiples of what we paid in 1989. Good move, huh?

I always thought that land is a good investment. But one of the best performing asset classes in recent years is art. I was beginning to think that art, rather than land, might be a more practical asset to pass on to future generations

Before all this developed, Yoko and I were set to begin our new life as empty nesters. The plan was to begin doing things together. We had planned to visit Paula and June and we made it to California and Hawaii in late July/ early August for a family summer vacation. Yoko and I spent a lot of time visiting the art galleries around Waikiki, but we did not find anything we liked. Actually, that's not true. We found stuff we like, but we did not like it enough to buy.

At the end of August, we took Jessie up to Talahassee so she could begin her college career. That marked the day Yoko and I became official empty nesters. The following weekend, we were off to Ft Lauderdale for ou first weekend getaway. There was a Rotary Presidential Conference being held there and I had promised Don Kennedy (our local club president and a family physician) that I would attend. (Don was the one who prescribed Chantix help me quit smoking.) At the conference I was coughing constantly and Don was sitting right next to me. He said he thought I had allergies and recommended I try an over the counter medication. (We tried various allergy drugs but nothing seemed to work.)

That Saturday night we went to visit an old college friend, Denis Kainen, who lives in Miami Beach. He is a criminal tax defense lawyer and lives on an exclusive private island off of South Beach. (Denis has neighbors like Billy Joel, Janet Jackson, etc.) Denis collects art and has some easily recognizable pieces. One piece in his living room that I recognized was a Joan Miro, the Spanish artist. (Miro has a very distinctive style and once you know what he does, he is as recognizable as Jackson Pollack.) In fact, he was a student of Picasso's and you can see Picasso's influence in his work.

The following Sunday, Yoko and I were touring Los Olas Blvd just browsing art galleries, when we happened into the New River Gallery. They ALSO had a Miro...this time with a price tag. Yikes! Yoko and I had a long talk with Tom Rosettii, who explained how they help people become collectors ...and that is when I began to think it would make a great hobby and perhaps a good investment. I decided to study the idea a little more. The print shown on is blog (Pygmees Under the Moon) was the piece we saw in Ft Lauderdale.

For labor day, Yoko and I went with friends to New Mexico, spending a lot of the time there looking at art. A few weeks later, we went to New York, to see our good friends, Mark and Yuko Campbell. Mark and I went to The Museum of Modern Art and I saw more Miro there...on Sunday, Yoko and I went to the Metropolitan Museum and saw all the great 21st century artisits there as well again, including Miro.

As it just so happens, I had been bumping into Miro everywhere....perhaps another omen. I had never really considered buying anything like this....but after my lung cancer diagnosis, it dawned on me that this might be a great legacy and gift to my children and future generations. Worst case, they can sell it back to a gallery.

A few weeks ago, in the midst of all this news about cancer, I decided to bite the bullet. I am now the proud owner of Pygmees Sous La Lune (etching and aquatint) Number 17 of 50 original productions. I hope you will come to see it!