Amy Phelan Forks Over $1.17 Mil at Guggenheim Fundraiser
Ellsworth Kelly, "Blue Relief", courtesy Guggenheim Museum
Guggenheim Museum trustee Amy Phelan snapped up Ellsworth Kelly’s 2007 “Blue Relief” last night at the museum’s International Gala for $1.17 million.
The work, comprised of two panels, was estimated to be worth in excess of $1 million. It had previously hung at the Guggenheim Bilbao and Musee d’Orsay in Paris.
The annual black-tie fundraiser garnered $2.3 million, with 250 guests attending. The event included a preview of the new Kandinsky exhibition.
Kelly had donated the piece to the museum.
Phelan was elected a Guggenheim a trustee in 2007. She is a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.
Her husband, John C. Phelan, is co-managing partner of MSD Capital, alongside collector Glenn Fuhrman (recent post about Fuhrman here). Phelan is a trustee of the Whitney Museum and Aspen Art Museum.
Actress Sarah Jessica Parker, author and collector Danielle Ganek, singer Art Garfunkel and Amy Phelan were among chairs of the event.
It’s probably best that I stay ignorant of events like this that make me angry about the undue influence of money outside the domain it was made. The blond trophy wife is an easy generalization, but it’s hard not see that at work in this case.