Marsha Goldstein answers the door dressed in dynamic wearable art. Over her shoulders rests a softly flowing long silk kimono displaying images of Frida Kahlo, one of her favorite artists; her oversize pendant necklace features a portrait of the famous female. Even her shoes—with a cantilevered heel—are a unique creation.
“I love art in all its forms,” she says. At age 18, Marsha became fascinated with surrealism—a cultural movement that emerged in the 1920s in which artists depict illogical and seemingly incongruous scenes revealing a sense of the subconscious. Think: René Magritte, Pablo Picasso, and Salvador Dalí. “I really connected with it,” she explains. “Much of art is not what you think it is.”
This Chicago native majored in art in college, and although she never made it her career (she owned a company that coordinated travel and tours for 40 years), art has defined her 57-year marriage to Michael, an engineer.
The couple started collecting art shortly after marrying. The first piece Marsha set her eyes on purchasing was a Picasso ceramic. When she showed it to Michael, he reminded her the cost was four times their monthly rent. “It was not the right time,” she says. For her birthday that year, Michael surprised her with the piece.
Their love of art became the center of the couple’s lives and consequently their home. Art has introduced them to people and places. It has dictated their travel; they have visited countries all over the world, where they have viewed and bought art. And they are still traveling. Recent trips took them to Paris, Crystal Bridges in Bentonville, Arkansas (“where the best examples of art can be seen for free,” adds Michael), New York, two presidential libraries (in Missouri and Kansas), a wedding in Mexico, and the Getty Center in Los Angeles.
Over the years Michael and Marsha have zealously curated art, crediting Ann Nathan, an owner and founder of a gallery in Chicago, with helping to nurture their collection. “So many of our pieces were meant to be,” says Marsha. She fondly details one or two works absent from their collection, calling them the “ones that got away,” but she’s not regretful. “We never buy spontaneously,” Michael adds.
At present, their collection numbers 103 pieces. Marsha has personally studied each and every one. They include such notable works as a rare black-and-white lithograph from Joan Miró, 12 Dalí lithographs, an incense burner from the Ming dynasty, a Gustav Klimt, a Magritte, interactive art, a large plaster reclining nude, and more. They also own numerous pieces of indigenous art—African, Chinese, and Japanese.
Through the seasons the couple have opened their home to art groups and especially enjoy sharing their collection with guests over cocktails—an event that often lasts for hours. Well-versed docents, Michael and Marsha take great pleasure in sharing the provenance and nuances found in each work. Marsha admits that she doesn’t just see art, she also hears it. “Art speaks to you,” says Marsha. “Art should compel you to want to know more.”
In 2015 the Goldsteins moved to Naples. They didn’t know anyone, but when they visited the city on the Gulf, they fell in love after only five days. “We didn’t think we were Florida people,” they disclose. They quickly felt a sense of place in Naples where they could comfortably exist. “It was the most spontaneous thing we’ve ever done,” mentions Marsha.
They bought a small condo in the Vineyards neighborhood, but as Naples grew on them and as they started making friends, they upsized to a spacious single-family home, one that had the perfect proportions and features—high ceilings, wall niches, a circular foyer, and a grand outdoor setting—to display their art. Only minor changes had to be made.
They moved much of their art—63 pieces to be exact—from Illinois to Florida in crates, very carefully; 40 pieces remain at their residence in Chicago. Prior to their arrival, Marsha mapped out exactly where she would hang or place each piece, based on the floor plan—ever mindful of which pieces work best together. She has not had to renege on one decision.
The couple visit The Baker Museum at Artis—Naples almost every other week and have gifted the museum with 12 pieces. This gift was unique because the Goldsteins invited the museum to select the works they most needed. “They know their collections and their gaps,” explains Marsha.
Marsha continues to serve on arts-related boards, and she and Michael have no plans to retire from their hobby or take a break from traveling. Each new day is another opportunity for the Goldsteins to engage with, enjoy, and share their collection.
“What’s truly surreal about it,” marvels Marsha, “is that we own all of these great pieces.”
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