Ridley and Betsy Wills have long had a passion for collecting artpaintings, paper, sculpture. But the most elaborate piece in their collection is actually their home. Built in 1990 by architect Charles Waterfield (a longtime Nashville architect who also worked on the restoration of the state Capitol building), it was originally commissioned by Sally and George Hicks on a piece of property along Old Hickory Boulevard. Although it was George Hicks' dream home, he lived there for only one year before he passed away. Sally Hicks enjoyed it for 19 more before selling it to the Willses in 2009.
'It was a really finely built house, which was important to me,” says Ridley, an architect himself and owner of the design/build business Wills Company. When he and Betsy found the home, they felt it needed just a few updates. 'Between the quality of the construction and thoughtfulness of the design, we had good bones to work with,” he adds.
'What Ridley does well is enhance the beauty of what's already there and make it useful for the time period that we're living in,” says Betsy, who is the mastermind behind the art blog ArtStormer.
In their case, that meant lowering the ceiling in the study, updating the kitchen and bathrooms, and improving the lighting, all of which was done by Wills Company. In the kitchen, Ridley knocked down three walls and installed modern cabinets and a metallic backsplash; the result is an open, uncluttered space. Of all its elements, old and new, the highlight of the home is the couple's collection of art.
'We are trying to focus on buying emerging young artists and supporting them,” says Betsy, whose blog was inspired by the idea that art 'doesn't need to match the sofa” and that 'everyone can afford quality art.”
For her, it's the discovery of unknown artistslike an L.A.-based paper artist she scouted on Etsy or the 18-year-old realist painter whose first piece she purchasedthat gives her a thrill. 'The internet has unleashed this whole new opportunity for me. I can sit at home and travel the world. It's like digging for treasure. But it's also unleashed an incredible opportunity for young artists because more people get to be introduced to their work,” she says, adding that ArtStormer has become a platform that has helped launch young artists.
Offline, she and Ridley regularly attend the downtown Art Crawl and the annual Art Basel event in Miami Beach. 'It's about training your eye. That makes you a more confident buyer,” she explains.
Together, they collect contemporary visual art. A piece by Devorah Sperber, which sits in the front hallway, is the first thing guests see when they enter the home. It consists of two parts: a clear acrylic sphere perched atop a pedestal and, on the wall, an installation of spools of thread. A view through the sphere reveals the familiar sight of a can of Campbell's soup.
'We saw this artist a year before we bought this in Chicago, and we thought about it. Then we saw it again later and were like, ‘If we're thinking about something for a year, let's buy it,'” says Ridley.
Other pieces in their home come from recognizable local names, whom they've met or befriended, like Nashville photographer Hunter Armistead, photorealist painter John Baeder, and oil painter and Vanderbilt University professor Marilyn Murphy. One of Murphy's paintings, 'Taking the Leap,” lives, above the stove (Betsy calls herself a 'maintenance cook”). Murphy taught Betsy's first art class at Vanderbilt; Ridley gave her the painting for her fortieth birthday.
While their collection boasts important names and a few valuable pieces, what's most important to the Willses is their shared excitement about the artists, discovering them, and the actual act of collecting.
'We're thoughtful about what we're doing,” Betsy says. 'Even though we're massive collectors and that's what we love, it's really all about editing.”
Resources
Wills Company; willscompany.com Patton Interiors ArtStormer; artstormer.com Twist Art Gallery; twistartgallery.com The Rymer Gallery; therymergallery.com Cumberland Gallery; cumberlandgallery.com Art Basel; artbasel.com Lauren Kussro; laurenkussro.wordpress.com Jeff Hein; jeffhein.com Blue Tree New York; bluetreenyc.com