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| Feature |
Taming Unwieldy Collections
Julie Connelly
06/01/2005
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Some collectors
simply create new space. Michael Quinn, a retired radiologist who lives in Coos
Bay, Ore., started acquiring Harley-Davidson motorcycles as a college student in
1961. Today he houses his 75 hogs and a few of their Japanese competitors in
their own 40-by-60-foot shed, which has concrete flooring and a metal roof.
Building the shed, which is near his home, cost Quinn about $50,000. He is still
interested in buying more bikes, “but I don’t have room,” he admits. “I’ve had
to lose weight just to be able to fit in here.”
TOP VIEW
Collecting art, classic vehicles, antiques and other fine objects
can provide a lucrative outlet for a passion. But problems—and unexpected expenses—can quickly arise when a collection grows in size and value. Storage,
security, insurance and other concerns, if not suitably addressed, can turn a
cherished collection into an exasperating burden. |
Malcolm Pray, a noted
acquirer of vintage cars, began by garaging them at his home in Greenwich, Conn.
As the collection expanded to 80 vehicles, he chose to store 40 of them in three
new buildings in Banksville, N.Y., on pristine acreage that resembles a horse
farm. There, several times a month, Pray invites underprivileged children to see
the gleaming autos while he urges them to become entrepreneurs and someday own
classic cars. “The response that I get from these kids makes me feel that I have
done some good with my collection,” he says.
Any number of art warehouses
will store a collector’s overage, but it is important to ask for references from
other collectors or even an insurance agent. Collectors need a location with
proper security, fire protection, temperature and humidity controls and one that
will handle possessions carefully. But even the most careful collector utilizing
the most secure warehouse is not invulnerable. In May 2004, fire ripped through
10,000 square feet of London’s Momart warehouse, incinerating much of Charles
Saatchi’s famous contemporary art collection. Shane knows he has to start
thinking about storing some of his pieces. He went so far as to get references
from fellow collectors, but the news of the Momart fire worried him. “That
didn’t help,” he admits.
Maintaining a collection at home brings its own
difficulties. An individual in Manhattan who displays her collection in her
co-op apartment says, “I can’t have a window cleaner come in without two
people supervising him, because I have stuff that breaks. Changing a light bulb
in my house is a big number.” Yes, she could store her items, but recently she
visited a prominent photography collector and was horrified to discover that the
collector’s pictures were photographs of the photographs because the originals
were in a warehouse. “Why would you want that?” she asks.
When collectors give parties, they often hire well-dressed security
guards to mingle with guests to thwart thieves and to keep the overly
enthusiastic from pawing the pictures. Susan Seidel, a New York dealer in
Impressionist and modern art, remembers that one of her clients had copies made
of every picture he owned. Whenever he hosted charity events that drew a crush
of people into his home, he always hung the copies. “He would have been appalled
at the ostentation of an armed guard in his house,” Seidel says.
Most people
would be horrified, but security expert Stevan Layne of Layne Consultants
International in Dillon, Colo., says security concerns are often justified.
“Thefts from private collections are pretty common, and from art galleries as
well,” he says. Most of these losses have an inside component, he notes. Members
of a household staff talk to their friends about the beautiful things, and the
friends might have less savory friends. “Collectors should screen their
employees better and be careful who they let in to see their collections,” Layne
suggests.
If the assemblage resides in a house, the collector needs outdoor
lights, alarms and strong fences to repel intruders. Front doors should be solid
core hardwood or steel with pin tumbler locks that have at least five tumblers,
and collectors should remove easily smashed fanlights and side windows; the
front door is only as strong as what surrounds it. Inside, security specialists
recommend video surveillance and intrusion detection alarms that include shock
sensors on the walls and motion sensors. “Your home must be protected like a
vault,” Layne says. “You don’t need heavy bank doors, but you do have to protect
around the perimeters, doors and windows.” An alarm system that rings into a
central station manned by police or a security service is a good idea, as long
as response time is less than five minutes.
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