Destination 2016: DallasBy Sandra Ramani

Not that art appreciation is entirely new. Given the number of affluent Dallasites—at last count there were 16 billionaires in the city, and several more in nearby Fort Worth—Dallas has never lacked benefactors. More than a century ago, prominent residents supported the creation of an art museum, the precursor of the Dallas Museum of Art. But today many more names, such as Perot, McDermott, Meadows, Hall, Nasher, Rose and Crow, adorn cultural institutions and major collections.

The growing appreciation for art in Dallas has an aesthetic purpose: Sprawled over 386 square miles of flat land, the city has never been a naturally scenic setting. “Because we lack the natural beauty of some other Texas cities, art has served as a recreational anchor and quality of life issue—and has helped businesses attract and retain an intelligent workforce,” says Catherine Cuellar, director of Entrepreneurs for North Texas.

A key example of Dallas’ thriving cultural scene is its Arts District. Conceived in the late 1970s when the Dallas Museum of Art needed a new home, the 19-block, 68-acre downtown neighborhood became the linchpin of the city’s arts community, and the city committed to concentrating the majority of its cultural institutions there. In the subsequent years, this plan revitalized the city center with structures by Pritzker Prize–winning architects such as Rem Koolhaas’ Wyly Theatre, I. M. Pei’s Meyerson Symphony Center, Nor-man Foster’s Winspear Opera House and Renzo Piano’s Nasher Sculpture Center. The evidence of the Arts District’s success is visible in its increased popularity: In 2013 the McKinney Avenue trolley added its first new car in 25 years, new restaurants and hotels have popped up in downtown and the Dallas Museum of Art has had record attendance over the last two years. “Our current art scene and Arts District are the result of 40 years of vision and philanthropy, from both civic leaders and residents,” says Cuellar, who previously served as executive director of the Arts District.

Among those forward-thinking private citizens were prominent families such as that of Harlan Crow. His father, Dallas native Trammell Crow, built an eponymous real estate empire while also channeling his enthusiasm for art into his work and philanthropy. Harlan Crow, now chairman and CEO of global real estate investment firm Crow Holdings, remembers that art appreciation was integral to his childhood. “Our stock-in-trade was building buildings,” he explains, “and it seemed clear that for a building to be important, art had to be a part of that equation.”

Dallas collectors such as the Crows have also taken an active role in the community by opening their collections to the public. While East Asian art was his parents’ passion—the Trammell & Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art museum is its incarnation— Crow himself is drawn to pieces that celebrate American history, noted figures and “philosophic ideals.” Many of these works are featured in “The American Experiment,” a collection of paintings, murals, sculptures and architectural elements displayed throughout Crow’s Old Parkland Campus business complex. Though Crow is drawn to the traditional, he acknowledges that “Dallas’ art scene is now primarily like the city: contemporary.”

Boston native and 25-year Dallasite John Sughrue agrees. “We don’t have 300 years of history here. This is a growing, forward-looking American city, and you can see that in its gestalt— in its architecture, the design of the homes and the focus on contemporary art,” says the former New York City banker-turned-real estate developer, who with gallerist Chris Byrne founded the Dallas Art Fair in 2009. “Culture follows commerce, and with citizens of the world now living in Dallas, a keen eye and an enthusiasm for collecting are part of the rhythm of the city.”

From its intimate beginnings, the Art Fair has grown to become the cornerstone of Dallas’ annual spring Arts Week, so declared by mayor Mike Rawlings in 2013. April 15 to 17 of this year, the fair featured nearly 100 dealers from 18 countries, hosted close to 13,000 attendees over the three-day period and resulted in healthy sales. Galas and receptions, openings of new exhibits (like this year’s Helmut Lang solo show at Dallas Contemporary), and gallerist- and curator-led tours now round out the week, as do opportunities for collectors to meet artists.

Kenny Goss, who, together with his ex-partner, British singer George Michael, launched the nonprofit Goss-Michael Foundation in Dallas nearly a decade ago, stresses that making those connections is crucial for both the artists and the community. “Art can be a catalyst to inspire people to engage with charities, and the people who are interested in helping charities often become the next collectors,” he says. In addition to showcasing British artists, both established and emerging, the foundation offers an artist-in-residence program, grants scholarships, houses a research library and hosts the annual MTV Re:Define art-music-auction event, which has raised millions for HIV/AIDS research through the sale of pieces donated by artists such as Damien Hirst, Cindy Sherman, David Salle and Shepard Fairey.

Also drawing celebrities and art-world players from around the globe is the Two x Two for AIDS and Art gala and auction, which over its 17 years has raised more than $60 million for AmfAR, an AIDS research nonprofit, and helped the Dallas Museum of Art acquire more than 190 contemporary pieces for its permanent collection. The annual event is held at the Richard Meier–designed former home of collectors Cindy and Howard Rachofsky, which is filled with works by artists like Gerhard Richter, Lucio Fontana and Donald Judd, and is now used primarily for events and guided tours. The Rachofsky Collection and Meier house are also part of a massive joint irrevocable bequest made to the DMA by the Rachofskys and fellow power collectors Marguerite and (the late) Robert Hoffman and Deedie and (the late) Rusty Rose; together, the three couples’ bequest encompasses 900 works of modern and contemporary art, valued at more than $300 million.

The announcement of the bequest in 2005 was, in many ways, “a turning point for our art scene,” says Catherine Marcus Rose, a notable collector, current DMA board president and daughter-in-law of the Roses. “Dallas has believed for a long time that to be a great city we need a great museum, but museums are only great if its citizens offer their time, talent or treasures—the latter in the form of donations or financial resources.” The announcement of this blue-chip “treasure,” Rose believes, helped shine the spotlight on the “high level of collectors and galleries here, and on the importance of collectors connecting with art institutions and staying engaged with an evolving population. It also set the tone for a collaborative atmosphere,” she adds. “Collectors compete here, but not with sharp elbows—there’s a common joy in the process, and a celebration of what everyone is able to do.”

For all its consumption of art, most insiders admit that Dallas has a glaringly scant working-artist scene. Gail Sachson, an artist and the former head of the Dallas Cultural Affairs Commission, says the city “is filled with energized, talented working artists.” And initiatives by the Goss-Michael Foundation and the Fairmont Hotel’s artist-in-residence program as well as some local galleries support them. But a lack of high-density residential areas, reasonably priced studio spaces and alternative display spaces suppress local talent. The Arts District “needs more energy and services,” Harlan Crow admits, while DMA’s Catherine Marcus Rose adds that “suburbs don’t always breed inspiration.” But she is hopeful. “Culturally, Dallas has grown tremendously in the last 20 years, and as long as we keep engaging the public with art, and making sure our institutions are attracting all parts of the community, we will get there.” After all, she adds, “this is a city that has always seen itself as full of possibility.”

This article originally appeared in the 2016 June/July issue of Worth.

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