Better than Silverware

SAN DIEGO—What do you give a bride and groom who have everything? In the case of art collectors Charles and Tanya Brandes, everything means his and her Ferrari collections, a 54,000-square-foot home outside San Diego and the means to hire Elton John to sing at their 2006 nuptials. The couple have a trustee at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego to thank for coming up with the idea of sponsoring the current Robert Irwin retrospective in their name as a wedding present. Eighty couples kicked in money. Tanya Brandes says she and her husband were delighted. The MCASD got something of a gift as well: Charles Brandes, who oversees $100 billion worth of assets at his investment advisory firm, joined the board shortly after the ceremony.

"Better Than Silverware" originally appeared in the January 2008 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's January 2008 Table of Contents.