Aspen’s Famed ArtCrush Makes a Near $4 Million Comeback With Powerful Texans Showing the Way

What: The Aspen Art Museum (AAM) annual ArtCrush gala

Where: In a tented paradise at the Aspen Skiing Company’s Buttermilk Ski Area

PC Moment: Collectors, philanthropists and art enthusiasts from across the country, as well as many from Texas, joined in the festivities that were first held in 2005 and have since that time raised more than $30 million for AAM’s year-round curatorial and educational programming. The 2021 gala showed a remarkable resilience following cancelation of the entire 2020 ArtCrush program due to the COVID pandemic.

The live auction of impressive works raised $2,795,000 while the online auction, hosted by Sotheby’s, of more than 40 artworks brought in $1.1 million bringing the total to approximately $3,895,000. In the three years prior to the pandemic, ArtCrush had raised between $2.3 and $2.8 million.

Applause, applause for chairs Jamie Tisch, Aspen-based art collector and founder of Pitkin Projects, and Amy Phelan, who has homes in Aspen, Palm Beach and New York. The duo had been tapped to chair the 2020 ArtCrush gala. With that canceled, they stepped in for a rollicking 2021 gala.

Well-set Texans have long called Aspen their second home and many of those have become patrons of the Aspen Art Museum. Barbara and Michael Gamson are on the national council while Barbara holds a position on the board. Dallas’ Nancy Rogers is also a board member. National council members from Houston include Leigh and Reggie Smith, Denise Monteleone, Sara Dodd and Sue Smith.

“ArtCrush 2021 is a testament to the rich artistic history of Aspen, a place that literally occupies a central, elevated position in the cultural landscape. At the same time, it is also a new beginning, as we build on the legacy of this event,” AAM director Nicola Lees says in a statement.

“With artists taking the lead, and with a greater involvement than ever in our broad community, ArtCrush 2021 points the way toward a future at the AAM of increased artist commissions and site-specific programs, more collaborations both local and international, and a deeper commitment than ever to the experience of mind, body and spirit that so powerfully defines Aspen.”

PC Seen: Sharon and Michael Young, Capera Ryan, Nancy Rogers, and Patrick Collins, all of Dallas; and from Houston Sara Dodd, Denise Monteleone,and Leigh and Reggie Smith.