For John Krantz, a longtime Des Moines Art Center patron, part of the experience of collecting and enjoying fine art is the chance to meet the artists.

“It always helps me a great deal to be able to appreciate an artist’s work, to be around them and know whether you like them personally,” said Krantz, who enjoys attending artists’ receptions held by the Art Center for its most generous donors.

Though it’s widely known that the Art Center charges no admission and is open to non-members, members enjoy special benefits, and as you might expect, the higher the contribution level, the better the perks become.

Krantz, president of Adventureland theme park, said one of his favorite art adventures was traveling to Miami with other members of the Art Center’s Contemporary Collectors group to attend Art Basel Miami.

“As part of that trip we also went to an artist’s studio in Miami and the homes of a couple of Miami artists,” he said. “That was very enlightening. And we also saw some private collections that just knocked your socks off, ones that any museum would be proud to have.”

Sure, members of the Patrons Council, those who give $1,000 or more annually to the Art Center, enjoy the free pair of concert series tickets, the complimentary tours and the cocktail receptions. But the most meaningful, and popular, benefits seem to be the participatory learning experiences, said Art Center Director Jeff Fleming.

“I think what has really proved most rewarding and popular have been those educational experiences where we share the wish list of the institution, or have those conversations with artists,” he said.

In 2003, the museum launched Contemporary Collectors, a membership group for Art Center members interested in starting or adding to their own art collections. Each year, the museum schedules events such as tours of the Art Center’s vault, visits to other metropolitan art museums and forums with local artists. The next event, scheduled in April, is a trip to the Walker Art Institute in Minneapolis for a tour of the Kiki Smith exhibition as well as exclusive visits to private collectors’ homes.

In a move to encourage greater participation by patrons, the Art Center this year simplified the membership structure for Contemporary Collectors. Previously, Art Center members at any level could join the collectors’ group, but paid a separate membership fee. Now, all members of the Patrons Council are automatically enrolled in the collectors’ group, which is now exclusive to patrons.

Fleming said he hopes that the new structure will lead to greater participation in Contemporary Collectors, which has averaged about 50 members.

“Any time you have the opportunity for active learning and participation, you’ll have enhanced participation, both personally and financially,” he said. “It’s all laying groundwork for the future. You can’t measure success on a year-to-year basis – we’re developing those future patrons. We’re hopefully laying the groundwork for that.”

One aspect of the Contemporary Collectors’ activities has been to each year recommend a new piece for the Art Center to purchase, each of which has been paid for with the group’s membership dues. Last week, the Art Center’s board of directors approved the Contemporary Collectors’ latest acquisition, a pair of relief etchings by Des Moines artist Phillip Chen titled “Take Waking” and “Mounting the Machine.”

For Ellen de Lathouder, who considers herself a novice collector compared with other members of Contemporary Collectors, learning more about modern art has forever changed the way she looks at art.

Her first trip with the group was to Art Basel Miami.

“The exposure to all the art was just an overwhelming experience at first,” she said. “It affected not only my interest in it, but also my perspective on art – it was quite something.”

She and her “significant other,” Jim Hubbell, were so thrilled with the experience that they subsequently traveled to the original Art Basel show in Switzerland.

Contemporary Collectors’ members also find great trips closer to home, Krantz said.

“To visit some of the wonderful collections in the Des Moines area – the Pappajohn collection, the Blank collection, the Kruidenier collection – they have some serious pieces,” she said. “And a lot of these collections have pieces you couldn’t get today.”

The stories from other collectors are always fun to hear, Krantz said, “(discussing) how you met an artist, or how you came to acquire a particular piece, or how your collection matured began or matured over the years. Also, the Art Center staff is usually always at the meetings and they kind of set the agenda and give background information on the medium the artist used in a particular piece.”

The groups visits to private collections “makes you aware how much great art is in Des Moines people’s homes,” said de Lathouder, who is vice president of creative services at Meredith Corp. “We also went over to (former Art Center director) Susan Talbott’s home before she left. She talked about her art and how art mirrors the buyer. I find that very enjoyable, seeing what someone purchases versus what they may go to see at a museum.”

She she’s she has also learned much from Hubbell, an experienced collector.

“We just bought our first art piece together, which was fun,” de Lathouder said. “When we travel, we like to go to galleries and museums. It was a photograph of tomatoes that we got, believe it or not. We were both smitten by that photograph, so it was fun to say, ‘Let’s get this one together.’ He sees the same thing. It’s nice being able to share that.”



Contemporary Collectors 2006 Schedule

April – Trip to Walker Art Institute in Minneapolis to tour the Kiki Smith exhibition and tour private collections. Learn specifically how the Walker differs in its collection and theory from the Des Moines Art Center.

May – Gallery Crawl: Working With the Galleries. Learn tips on purchasing art from the perspectives of several very different local galleries.

September – Vault tour with Art Center Director Jeff Fleming as he talks about his wish list for the Art Center.

November – A Conversation With Alex Brown at the Art Center. Interested in commissioning a work or buying directly from an artist? Alex Brown will share his perspective on working with galleries and patrons.

December – Holiday party at Fleming’s home to view his personal collection.