Her soirees have contributed to her popularity in the art world. They are legendary for bordering on the outrageous: At one of the dozens of museum events she has hosted, Playboy bunnies appeared "wearing" spray-painted bikinis. Delug enjoys shocking or titillating her jaded art world guests. "This is part of my creative process," she says. "It’s like a happening instead of the same old party."

But Schimmel cautions against reducing Delug to her social role. "First you think she’s a party girl who likes the scene," he says. "But then you realize she is supersmart and absolutely focused." Although Delug takes tips from him, Philbin and others, she makes her own decisions. She has no interest in competing with those vying to accumulate pieces by the best-known, and costliest, artists of the past 50 years. "I’m not a covetous person," she says. "These are not trophies. Each and every piece I bought because I want to look at it."

"Rosette in Bloom" originally appeared in the July/August 2009 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's July/August 2009 Table of Contents.