Collectors Ellen & Jerome's Stern's chase for art, comes to a long goodbye

THE NEW YORK TIMES
Show Us Your Walls
By Robin Pogrebin

Ellen Stern in her living room, with an untitled work by the Surrealist artist Roland Penrose, above left. The shelf holds three Joseph Cornell boxes; above them is “To Better the Guarded” by the British-Ghanian painter Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, and, at right, “Vespers” by Ms. Yiadom-Boakye. Credit Vincent Tullo for The New York Time

NEW YORK---Losing her husband, Jerome, in March was devastating for Ellen Stern. And preparing to part with much of their extensive art collection this fall is its own kind of grief. The Sterns’ Manhattan apartment is filled with paintings, sculpture and photography, as is the “art barn” on their 16-acre estate in Westhampton, N.Y. Valuable pieces from both locations will come up for sale at Sotheby’s starting in November. "We just had a lot of fun doing it. Jerome loved the chase, meeting the artists, getting to know the artists," said Stern. "Wangechi Mutu was married on our property in Westhampton. We helped support the artists. It’s nice knowing the artists and seeing how their careers develop." [More]