1960

Nine classmates showed up at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco for a luncheon and special tour of an exhibition by John Friede and his wife, Marcia, of highlights of their collection, "Masterworks of New Guinea Art," which they are donating to the new De Young Museum in the Bay city.

Present were Dick Goodman, Bob Caulfield, Don Black, Hap Dunning, Ed Berkowitz, Dick Gale, Bruce Hasenkamp, Peter Farquhar and me, and we had a terrific time listening to Johns elaborate description of how he obtained the art and his analysis of it.

"We have had a lifetime of pleasure collecting New Guinea art," said John. The pieces are, indeed, spectacular, and were splendidly displayed.

Bruce, who helped arrange the event, with his wife, Inta, is a collector himself. In his case, it is Korean art. He started with Korean ceramics in 1964, when he was stationed near Seoul in the Army.

He has added chests and other items of wood and a few paintings, but the core of the collection remains about 300 ceramics dating as early as the Ist century A. D.

Bruce remarks, in his inimitable way, "Occasionally, I would stumble on a treasure in a curio shop that was not identified as such by the shop, and occasionally I got taken by a fake."

The class has several other fine collectors. Gary Stass and his wife, Nancy, have several hundred pieces of American folk art, drawings, paintings, weathervanes, quilts, samplers, wood sculptures, panels, almost all from the 19th century, at his home in New Canaan, Connecticut. Retired basically for 12 years, he has had a good time pursuing his collecting.

Ed Henriquez and his wife, Anita, spending much time in Panama, have put together an extensive collection of traditional Latin American artists in the last 12 years, including works by Diego Rivera, Mario Careeno, Wilfredo Lam, Roberto Matta, Amelia Pelaez, Fernando Botero, Leonora Carrington and contemporary artists as well. His special favorite is a Costa Rican-born Mexican artist/sculptor named Francisco Zuniga. Anita notes that the Santa Barbara Museum of Art is going to show one of their pieces, by Mexican Guntheor Gerzso, in a retrospective on him it is exhibiting next year.

Ed remarks, "Collecting has been a personally rewarding hobby." And Anita adds, it has made the move into retirement, "the transition from being totally dedicated to the family business 24/7," that much easier. "It certainly made (going) from Father Boss to elder statesman/chairman of the board easier for our children who work in the business."

Jon Cohen modestly declares, "I feel fairly insecure with my collection of late 19 th and early 20 th century art. Mention me as kind of an afterthought."

Rick Roesch asks me to mention that your class leaders have given a $1,000 memorial gift to the Alumni Fund in honor of 76 classmates who have died.

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