By Janet Leonardi/For the star-Ledger
A glimpse into Patricia Bell’s South Orange home evokes the awe of a childhood visit to a favorite candy shop.
Everywhere you look, there’s something colorful and enticing. But instead of gumdrops and lollipops, these walls, shelves, tables and niches display Bell’s treasure-trove of visual arts: stunning photographs, bold paintings, graphic prints, unique sculpture, bright ceramics and richly hued glass.
Bell, a senior vice president at Merrill Lynch in Short Hills, is also a collector extraordinaire of contemporary art, but she admits to having been a novice when she acquired her first pieces in 1989.
“Art was not a major focus in my life early on,” Bell says. “I recall buying a batik from a friend in college, but that was about it.”
Years later, after a move east from Colorado to live and work in New Jersey, Bell’s interest in art was piqued.
She credits John P. Lee of the Bravin Lee Gallery in Manhattan with exposing her to art’s many exciting possibilities.
“John took me to galleries and I began to educate myself by visiting more galleries, buying an Art 101 book and attending auctions. I soon realized the art I wanted to purchase was the art of my day.”
Largely self-taught, Bell has been zealously collecting contemporary art ever since. Much of her collection is museum quality and includes the work of area artists. “There are so many talented artists right here in Union, Essex and the surrounding counties.”
She purchased her stately 4,000 square-foot home in 1999 and immediately embarked upon a major two-year renovation. “It became an Arts-and-Crafts-meets-Soho-loft style house and was designed first and foremost to accommodate artwork,” Bell said. “Once the renovation was complete, the first thing I did was place the art. The furniture and accessories followed later.”
The home itself is an art form with Bell as its artist. And although she says it’s still evolving, those fortunate enough to visit find each room a feast for both the eye and the imagination.
At last count, about 100 works are masterfully displayed, and Bell says, “Everything I own is visible. Nothing is in storage because I don’t buy art to hoard it; I buy it to be seen.”
She says she buys whatever speaks to her because, “living with art is like living with the souls of the artists.”
Sculptures by New Jersey artist Tom Nussbaum and photographs from Canadian-born Laura Letinsky and London’s Gillian Wearing all find happy homes here.
About three-quarters of her photographic art is by female photographers, which, Bell says, “wasn’t by design, it just happened.”
One of her favorite pieces “Harvest,” is a large oil on wood by New York City’s Alexis Rockman, whose paintings often depict the interaction between humanity and nature.
Bell also lists the mixed media work of Nancy Tobin, a local contemporary visual artist among her favorites. New Jersey artists Claire Rosen, Willie Cole, Margaret Murphy and Lisa Pressman are also present here.
Throughout the three-story home, expensive works are in perfect harmony with less costly folk art pieces. To complement the collection, Bell had walls painted vibrant green in one of the home’s four bedrooms. In the four bathrooms and other areas of the house, bright hues such as tangerine and yellow are used. Some ceilings are dramatic purple, some deep blue, others white. Every design element is a backdrop for Bell’s collections.
Whimsy also has a prominent place here. Brilliant ruby glass bottles jauntily line sun-filled window sills, and stacks of art books stand everywhere. A Louis Vuitton case, from its Stephen Sprouse collection, holds a bold, pink-lettered skateboard; carnival masks adorn a side wall, and colorful arrays of glass hearts grace tabletops.
“Cakes,” a large photograph on aluminum by artist and pastry chef Sharon Core, is not at all at odds in the dining room with a graphic print of the original cereal mosaic of Barack Obama entitled “Breakfast of Champion” by Hank Willis Thomas and Ryan Alexiev.
Bell’s philanthropy is as ongoing as her collecting. She hosts benefits, sits on trustee boards, heads up committees and donates art for fundraising auctions.
When pieces in her collection need to be changed out to accommodate new purchases, Bell lends or donates them to galleries, museums and charities. “I donated a wonderful outdoor sculpture by Tom Nussbaum to the Montclair Art Museum and some of my pieces are currently on loan to the South Orange Performing Arts Center.”
An avid supporter of local shops, institutions and galleries, Bell lists the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey in Summit, the Newark Museum and the Aljira Center for Contemporary Art in Newark as just a few wonderful nearby resources.
“Newark is becoming quite an art enclave with the Rupert Ravens 30,000-square-foot contemporary gallery at 85 Market Street a definite focal point,” she says.
Bell is quick to encourage others to jump in and experience the fascinating art world for themselves. “Take some time, get a gallery guide, educate yourself and, most importantly, buy what you like,” she advises.
A framed poster on her family room wall reads, “Stay calm and carry on.” There’s no doubt Bell will do just that, and the contemporary art world will be all the better for it.