The late director of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, William Rubin, who was not one to hand out compliments freely, once praised as “seamless” the Lansings’ collection, composed primarily of Surrealism but also of contemporary art. The couple has been collecting for more than 30 years, and they both sit on boards of prominent New York art organizations—she on MOMA’s, he on that of Independent Curators International. A particular pleasure over the years, says Sydie, a designer of handbags and wallets, has been remaining close with the creators of the works they collect, including the installation artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, the photographer Duane Michals and the late Robert Mapplethorpe.

This past spring, Sydie and Gerrit, an art historian, agreed to host tours of their collection as a fund-raiser for the local boys’ prep school Brunswick. They were astounded when, instead of the 30 visitors they expected, nearly 100 showed up. The Lansings spent the afternoon explaining their art to a rapt audience, and Sydie says that, while exhausting, it was gratifying to see the town’s enthusiasm. “We talked and talked and at the end were exhausted,” she recalls. “People were so interested in what was here.”

"Sydie and Gerrit Lansing" originally appeared in the July 2008 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's July 2008 Table of Contents.