Our Life-Long Desire, Collecting Art
After a visit to the Behm Gallery in Bellevue, we decided to take our vacation in San Francisco this spring. We remembered an Art Gallery near the Ghirardelli Square with a very nice sales lady we shall visit, after we stopped at the Café right by the end station of the trolley to get one of their famous Irish coffee’s. The reason for this trip was not only art, but something we were not able to accomplish at home and will try our best here. We saw at the Behm Gallery a beautiful etching called “Snow in Normandy” but this etching we wanted was shown in a set of three and the sales lady told my Hal that they will not sell only this one.
We entered the art gallery and saw the lovely sales lady coming toward us and we received a warm greeting and welcome. She asked if there was a certain piece we were looking for and we told her our story and described the etching. She lead us to the section with beautiful lithographs and stunning etchings and here my eyes caught Delacroix’ etching “Snow in Normandy” the center one in a set of three.
Molli, the nice sales lady told us right away that they will sell us just the one we want. That they always let their customer decide and they would sell them individually instead in a set. They will change the glass to plexiglass that would not shatter and air ship it to our home. We thanked her for her kindness and asked if we could look around the gallery. She, of course, said yes and offered us an espresso.
My Hal and I were delighted to take a stroll through the rest of the gallery. We remembered how many beautiful pieces of fine art they had, from our last visit. We suddenly came to a section with striking pencil sketches. And there my eyes stopped by a lovely pencil sketch of my favorite Impressionist “Camille Pissarro.” It was beautifully framed, and I could see already it was coming home with us. Molli, the sales lady thought this a good choice and wrapped it in bubble wrap. After a sincere thank you, we went on our way. We are able to take this parcel in our luggage on our flight home.
Now would be the perfect time to do some celebrating. We drove to our hotel, stopped at the desk and inquired where we could order room service. We ordered a bottle of Dom Perignon, a lobster salad with French bread and sweet butter on the side and French triple cream cheese with a dallop of fig paté as dessert.
The next morning after breakfast we went into the city to I.Magnin. They always carried “Escada” silk blouses. I was hoping that I could extend my blouse collection and find another Escada blouse. They are a treasure to own.
After that we will be on our way to Carmel. We cannot visit San Francisco so near, and not visit Carmel. We are looking for a wonderful lunch at our favorite French bistro and a visit with the French owner. It is always a pleasure to visit with her. We heard that Mr. Balyon has his own gallery now and is not represented by Simic any longer.
Our pleasant, good news was two-fold. The lunch of very tender and tasty veal with a fine cognac sauce, rice and green asparagus was excellent and the dream of a Mosel Riesling together with a visit with the French lady was something not to forget. For our flight home we had another little parcel for the other suitcase. A beautiful oil on wood painting by Balyon. It will be a good partner to the ones we already have.
Now that was not only a vacation it was an outstanding shopping trip to fulfill our desire.
Our Ilona and Hal lived a charmed life. An inspiration for us. Thank you for sharing these glimpses into the way you lived such a full and beautiful life. Always art. Always exquisite food and wine. Always thoughtful and lasting encounters with strangers who become friends. You remember San Francisco at its best, when it really was a perfect jewel set on the edge of the Pacific. I hope one day it will recover its glory. Carmel still shines and draws one into a time and place of beauty and serenity. These reflections are so satisfying. Beauty, goodness, and kindness.