Estate of Alice Zimmerman, Nashville, Tennessee
Alice Zimmerman in Zimmerman/Saturn Gallery.
The art world is one as deep as it is broad. Rife with strong personalities, a staggering range of mediums and tastes, and legions of artists, critics, and collectors alike, it takes strength of will, character, and mind to successfully navigate. Considering her impact on the Nashville art scene and the testimonies of those who knew her even just for the length of an interview, Alice Zimmerman had these qualities in spades. Born in Chicago and growing up in Atlanta, from a young age Alice defined herself by her independence and openness. She would live by these values over the course of her adult life, which manifested in volunteering her time and energy to a number of charitable organizations, nonprofits, and social causes, including the National Council of Jewish Women, the American Craft Council, the Mary Parrish Center for Victims of Domestic Violence (of which she was a co-founder), Meharry Medical College, and the Metro Nashville Arts Commission (of which she was the Executive Director).
Yet for all these accomplishments, her passion was always the arts. As a collector, gallery owner, and advocate for the arts, she relished every opportunity to expand horizons. Alice’s home reflected this, put together in a fashion that was incontrovertibly hers. From the high ceilings to the open spaces, it was festooned with art and furniture that was hand-picked following subjection to her discerning, educated, and often whimsical eye. And her home was her medium, through which she brought her sensibilities to life. Whether hosting a dinner in honor of Andy Warhol and Jamie Wyeth, or giving tours to local art students, she wanted her home to be a spark for someone else’s artistic journey.
Her tastes were varied and she often found new genres to explore. “I have to have aesthetically pleasing things around me,” she once said in an interview, “To me, art is the most important feature of a home.” Art to Alice was more than just an aesthetically pleasing means to fill empty spaces. Every piece required thought and intentionality, but first and foremost, it required love. “The real art lover chooses out of love,” she said. “You choose something you like, something that’s a personal object… Personally, I want a piece of art that moves me emotionally. I want something that I feel in my gut.” Art was always more than the sum of its parts for Alice Zimmerman. Art was life, art was a story, art was humanity.
She once wrote that “art [is] what endures of a civilization… the endeavors of a creative mind and heart.” It only makes sense that she would take a similarly all-encompassing view of the art of collecting, calling it “giving full rein to your passion- as much as time, space, and finances will allow.” Of course, art and the act of collecting it being so holistic, personal, and profoundly sensory, it would be a most consummate shame for any to be left out of the experience. As such, Alice’s philanthropic mindset was applied to the subject of her great passion. As co-owner of the pioneering Zimmerman/Saturn Gallery, Alice extended the passion she put into her home to her business. She believed that art should be something accessible, something that everyone could enjoy. “I’ve got something for everybody,” said Zimmerman in regards to her gallery. Art was, as in her mind it should be everywhere, affordable and accessible to prospective collectors no matter their budget. How could she think otherwise, when it was to her such a supreme positive? Buying art (and therefore feeding an artist) was a means by which to nourish your very soul, and she definitely practiced what she preached. As mentioned above, practically everything in her home, be it art or furniture, was handpicked and carefully curated, but so too were the pieces featured in her gallery. Somewhat cheekily, she once said in an interview “Looking is really what it’s all about. I don’t expect people to like all the things I show…but I’m telling you, the artists I show are good.” We hope you take the time to see that fact for yourself as we bring her collection to auction.
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