The Love Story of Patrick Duffy and His Late Wife
From the beginning, art was key to actor Patrick Duffy's relationship with his late wife Carlyn. It was their shared passion, and in fact, it was Carlyn who first introduced her husband to collecting.
"My wife had perfect pitch; she could play concert piano; she was a ballerina; she lived a life that was artistic. And I was drawn into that from a sort-of narrow artistic point of view," he says in the video above, announcing the sale of their collection at Sotheby's this May.
"That was not the beginning of my education, that was probably my doctorate, what influenced my life from the age of 22 when I met her."
Over the course of their more than four-decade relationship, they amassed an intimate collection of American art, in part fueled by Duffy's career successes, like his role of Bobby Ewing on the popular TV show, Dallas.
"Dallas provided an amazing opportunity. It allowed us to look at what we wanted to do most, so this is the house that Dallas built, and the gallery is full of the art that Dallas bought," he says, reflecting how his acting accomplishments fueled the growth of his gallery.
Duffy's wife passed away in 2017, and while he's choosing to sell some of their works after her passing, he seems at peace with the decision to let the art go.
"As we were fortunate enough to be able to feed our passion, it more than returned sustenance, which is why the art needs to go somewhere else now," he says. "Because the art, it never depletes its capability of sustaining other people's passions. it forever has that capability."
Below, a few of the pieces available in the sale along with commentary from Duffy.
Milton Avery’s The Seamstress was a wonderful accident. Carlyn and I were chasing a work by Maurice Prendergast that we had spotted in an American Art catalogue when this amazing, very modern piece drew us in; we couldn’t take our eyes off of her when she first entered our lives back in 1998, and she continues to impress every day.
For reasons unknown to me at the time, Leon Kroll’s Hunter in the Hills called my name. It was only after my sister visited that I saw the resemblance between this beautiful work and a photograph of my parents in Montana in the 1940s, '50s – a sign perhaps of the connection between the art we collect and our daily lives.
For me, Andrew Wyeth’s Perpetual Care embodies the amazing effect of art; it removes constraints and lets your imagination run free. In researching this painting, I discovered that the artist always thought he saw a young girl in a white dress looking out of the window. She obviously isn’t there, but knowing his intention, I cannot walk past this painting without taking a second glance at that window.
While I was on location in Australia, Carlyn sent me a fax of a sheet torn out of an auction catalogue of Andrew Wyeth’s The Bachelor. As it rolled out of that machine in all its black and white glory, it took my breath away.
The Collection of Patrick and Caryl Duffy is being auctioned at Sotheby's as part of the American Art sale on May 23. For more information, visit Sothebys.com.
You Might Also Like
