Usually, we work from that standpoint rather than use a scattershot approach.RP:What things would you recommend to someone interested in serious collecting?SB:First, you have to do a lot of readingthe trade press, the brochuresand know enough to decide on your area of concentration. Thank you! We wanted to donate the works at this point in time because it would be good for the city of New Orleans, certainly good for the museum, and it would simplify my estate. K&Bs headquarters had been at 900 Camp St., in a building that, through Besthoffs donation, became the Contemporary Arts Center. Elyn Zimmerman, Mississippi Meanders, 2019. Sydney Johnson Besthoff III, a New Orleans businessman and art connoisseur who led a seven-state drugstore chain until he sold it in 1997, died Saturday at his New Orleans home of heart. The art world is definitely not the business world. The building, designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in 196062 and featuring an 18-foot granite sculptural fountain designed by Isamu Noguchi, became the headquarters of K&B Incorporated, a family-owned drugstore chain founded by Besthoffs grandfather in 1905. Updated: September 18, 2013 Sydney Besthoff and Walda Besthoff at Sydney Besthoff's 90th Birthday Party at the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden. Mrs. Besthoff served on the board of the Contemporary Arts Center in the 1980s, chairing the Capital Campaign for its expansion. Links are provided for reference only and MyLife.com does not imply any connection or relationship between MyLife.com and these companies. Then we placed the sculptures. Who's Searching for You, Look Your Best to People Searching for You. Sydney Besthoff served as chairman and CEO of K&B Incorporated, a retail drugstore chain in Louisiana and the Gulf South founded by his grandfather in 1905. Check Full Reputation Profile Originally conceived in 2003, the Sculpture Garden doubled in size in 2019. How to get through the artspeak. Your name as you would like for it to appear. He was 94. records, Lawsuits, Liens, Bankruptcies & sex offender status for Sydney Besthoff. Photo by 2nd Story Creative/Cat Landrum. I was involved in the discussions, and I have a lot of practical experience on how to do it. CANDLE HAS BEEN LIT CANDLES HAVE BEEN LIT, We are reviewing your submission. Find her on Twitter and Instagram as @suestrachan504, with the hashtag #nolasocialscene. Previously, most of the Besthoffs sculpture collection was on view at K&B Plaza, a seven-story office building in downtown New Orleans, which Sydney Besthoff purchased in 1973. In Memory Of Sydney Johnson Besthoff, III. Did you know everyone on this list? Let others know about your loved one's death. He was always there for the Center and ready to provide whatever was needed. There will be a celebration of his life in the spring. His defense, his wife said, was that reinvesting that money instead of paying it out in dividends would result in bigger dividends in the future. He never stopped working toward his goal to establish New Orleans as an important contemporary arts city. He expanded the company along the Gulf Coast throughout the 70s and 80s then sold the beloved chain in 1997. Also in 2004, Sydney was recognized by the International Sculpture Center, and in 2018, as part of The Times-Picayune/nola.coms 300 for 300 series in celebration of New Orleans tricentennial. He was a trustee of the art museum and the chairman of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the Boy Scouts in New Orleans and the United Fund (now the United Way). NEW ORLEANS Sydney Johnson Besthoff, who had led the seven-state Katz & Besthoff drugstore chain until he sold the business in 1997, died Saturday at his New Orleans home of heart failure, the family said. Just open to the public. Some of my fondest memories of Sydney and Walda are walking in Chelsea togethergoing from gallery to gallery, pacing ourselves so that we could make the most of our time and then talking about what we had seen over a quick lunch so we could get back to the galleries. Resides in New York, NY. E. John Bullard, then the art museums director, suggested that the couple donate their holdings to the museum. Of course, anything that wed do would have to be in conjunction with the museum. Visit her on Facebook. Valerie Besthoff, Sydney Besthoff and Walda Besthoff at Sydney Besthoff's 90th Birthday Party at the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden. The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden is home to more than 90 sculptures by renowned artists from around the world, set within a picturesque landscape of native Louisiana trees and plants. Sydney Besthoff: We had just bought the K&B building a couple of years before. Sydney Besthoff never stopped looking for pieces for the garden, said Susan Taylor, the museums director. He also serves on the board of the New Orleans Museum of Art. You have permission to edit this article. It continues to inspire artists and entrepreneurs in New Orleans and around the world. The collection continues to grow, now featuring more than 90 works, representing the extraordinary range of Sydneys and Waldas taste and keen eye. I loved running into him both in New Orleans and New York. Thomas Walsh is an independent radio producer and audio engineer who lives in New Orleans. swung over the fence and gently landed on the site near the pavilion. Also, the art dealers could explain their art better. Photo by 2nd Story Creative/Cat Landrum. Could you explain how this worked?SB:First, for the general garden design, Lee Ledbetter, the architect, and the landscape architect, based in New York, laid out the overall site. Though Besthoff's actual birthday, Oct. 27, was a few days away, the celebration gathered family and friends: the Besthoffs' daughters Valerie Besthoff and Jane Steiner with Rodney Steiner and their daughter Sydney Steiner and cousins in from throughout the state, NOMA Deputy Director Ann Banos, NOMA board President Mike Siegel, Lee Ledbetter (whose company designed the sculpture garden), Bill Goldring,Ellen Johnson and Dr. Ronnie Swartz, Marshall Hevron, Basi and Michael Carbine, Liz Sloss, Julie George and Ted George, Sybil and Blair Favrot, Penny Francis, Dana and Steve Hansel, Susu and Andrew Stall, Carol and Tom Reese, Wayne Amedee, Michael Smith, Beth and Austin Lavin, Marianne Cohn, Catherine Burns Tremaine, former NOMA Director John Bullard, Louisette Brown and artist George Dunbar. He was 94 years old. Its a real English countryside garden, in the style of Capability Brown. K&B was more than a drugstore. We specifically wanted to have the three bridges and the walks, to have different views of the sculptures. Anyone surprise you? The hue described as not quite lavender, not quite violet eventually pervaded the stores and everything in them, from paper bags to packaging to employee vests. Mary Ann Unger: To Shape a Moon from Bone, Nari Ward: Ill Take You There; A Proclamation, Liz Larner: Dont put it back like it was, Americans with Disabilities Act Statement. For that to happen, there were only two art collectorsin town who could pull it off: Walda and Sydney Besthoff. 76 times This profile was gathered from multiple public and SB:No. May his life continue to be a blessing.With health to you all,George ScheerExecutive Director, Don Marshall, Founding Director (1976-1985)"The impact of Sydney Besthoff on the Visual and Performing Arts in Louisiana and New Orleans is monumental. While specific net worth information isn't available for Mr. Cummings, he is a well known real estate developer in New Orleans responsible for such projects as the National Rice Mill Lofts, the International House Hotel, and the condos at 866 Camp St. Sincerely, It was thrilling.. Sydney Besthoff currently lives in New Orleans, LA; in the past Sydney has also lived in Mobile AL. You get various views, including the two in the lagoon itself. Bill Goldring and Michael Smith at Sydney Besthoff's 90th Birthday Party at the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden. You are already missed. See pictures and our review of Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden. Through my time working with him, I have been fortunate to enjoy a meaningful partnership and friendship. The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden at NOMA: Beautiful setting - See 1,364 traveler reviews, 1,161 candid photos, and great deals for New Orleans, LA, at Tripadvisor. He loved the chase, she said. Wednesday, October 18, 2017. To view and sign the guest book, please visit www.lakelawnmetairie.com. It is not an organized marketplace. Our love and warmth go to his family and friends as they grieve this loss, and we offer deep condolences to his wife and daughters who, for so many years, shared him and his love for art with this community. Theres no comprehensive list out there that ranks everyones net worth, but there are some big movers and shakers in New Orleans whose wealth is well known. Thats the big difference. It was more on a coincidental basis. The Dignity Memorial brand name is used to identify a network of licensed funeral, cremation and cemetery providers that include affiliates of Service Corporation International, 1929 Allen Parkway, Houston, Texas. Sydney was celebrated as one of the 300 people who have made New Orleans, New Orleans., RELATED: NOMA to double Besthoff sculpture garden with $15 million expansion, RELATED: Morning Call serves up its last orders of beignets and caf au lait, Credit: Kathy Anderson / NOLA.com | Times-Picayune. 7) Tom Benson, Networth: 2.2 Billion Wikicommons / Andricka Hammonds The memorial service and interment in Metairie Cemetery will be private. Their unwavering vision and commitment distinguishes New Orleans from any other city in the country with one of the most important sculpture gardens in the world. Last Saturday, the CAC's Founder, Emeritus, and Champion, Sydney Besthoff III passed away peacefully at his home. In addition to longstanding time as NOMA Trustee, he served on the boards of numerous businesses and arts organizations, including the Contemporary Arts Center of New Orleans; First National Bank of Commerce, New Orleans; National Association of Chain Drug Stores; Boy Scouts of America; New Orleans Symphony; United Fund; and Newman School, New Orleans. DOWNLOAD, See highlights of the Sculpture Garden in a virtual tour produced in partnership with the Google Arts & Culture Initiative. The Life of Sydney Johnson. One of the things that makes the garden relatively unique is that it has all of these different concepts built in. Sydney Johnson Besthoff, III, of New Orleans, Louisiana, died at his home on Saturday, February 26, 2022. The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden occupies approximately eleven acres in City Park adjacent to the museum. One Collins C. Diboll Circle, City Park The excitement was even more palpable when the works arrived at the garden loaded on a flatbed truck, ready for the installation. I dont, but people do. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Since. The richest person in both New Orleans and Louisiana, Tom Benson is best known now as the owner of the Saints and the Pelicans, and for the entrenched battle currently going on over his estate as he ages. By Rebekajean What information about Sydney are you looking for? The K&B building atLee Circle is known for its collection of art inside and out. Get our updates delivered directly to your inbox! Hes a contributing editor for Sculpture and focuses on contemporary art and design. below. By using our site, you agree to our use of cookies. besthoff was chairman and ceo of k&b, the retail drug store chain (sold to the rite aid corporation in 1997), who with walda besthoff have been longtime art collectors and arts supporters,. The Noguchi at the time was inoperativeand I had to get it to work. Therefore, it has to maintain its mystique as an elitist operation. So, we wanted something else to collect. Other questions:subscriberservices@theadvocate.com. See The store was full of popular store brands and soda fountains. Opened to the public in 2003, and expanded in 2019, the Besthoff Sculpture Garden has received world-wide acclaim and is regularly mentioned as one of the most definitive sites for outdoor sculpture in a natural landscape. From there, we commissioned a few pieces, bought a few pieces. LOVE in the Garden 2019. "Jay Weigel, Director (1996-2013)"When the late Luba Glade paid a visit to Sydney Besthoff asking if a bunch of artists could utilize an empty warehouse located at 900 Camp Street for the purpose of presenting the contemporary arts of New Orleans - he said yes. . You'll receive your first newsletter soon! Some relatives sued Besthoff for not paying bigger dividends to non-working family members. He was a founder of the Contemporary Arts Center of New Orleans and past president of its board of directors. New Orleans Museum of Art In November 2003, the five-acre Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden opened at the New Orleans Museum of Art. Were it not for his generosity and ongoing commitment, we would not be here today. He was the first ever recipient of the City of New Orleans Arts Award in 1980, and was recognized with a Louisiana Humanities Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. Searching for you then sold the beloved chain in 1997 Google Arts & Culture Initiative countryside. 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