Steve Wilson, founder of 21c Museum Hotels, and his wife Laura Lee Brown share their eclectic art collection in a CULTURED interview. Wilson recounts his early start in collecting with a Picasso poster bought as a college freshman after a discouraging art teacher, and how he and Brown now live with over 100 works in their Kentucky home, including provocative pieces like Kendell Geers’s champagne glasses cast from the artist’s erect penis. The couple’s collection also spans works by Kehinde Wiley, David Hockney, Andy Warhol, and many others, displayed salon-style across their residence.
This article matters because it profiles a major collector who has redefined the museum experience by integrating contemporary art into boutique hotels, creating more exhibition space across 21c locations than any other institution in America. Wilson’s philosophy—that art should be lived with and provoke uncomfortable conversations—challenges traditional museum models and highlights the growing intersection of hospitality, collecting, and public engagement with art.