Columnist Kate Maddox: Wynn tour paints pretty picture of art gallery

Kate Maddox

Tuesday, Oct. 5, 1999 | 9:52 a.m.

Kate Maddox's gossip column appears Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach her at kmaddox@ vegas.com or 259-2309.

On Friday night Steve Wynn personally led a very special tour of his Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. This was his gift to the elite handful of patrons who purchased $15,000-a-piece platinum sponsorships to the "Three of Hearts" benefit held over the weekend at the Bellagio's Monet Ballroom.

"Three of Hearts" was designed to bring attention to three separate organizations that raise awareness and support for children and families in crisis.

Wynn led the private tour of about 20 people -- including this journalist -- through his stunning tour de force gallery for more than two hours. Art is obviously his passion, and for a man who only began collecting art three years ago, his knowledge of the pictures and the artists is overwhelmingly impressive.

Spending at least 10 minutes at each painting, Wynn described everything from the artist's background to the history of the painting and, occasionally, how and for how much he acquired the pictures. (By the way, Wynn informed us that "serious collectors" always refer to paintings as pictures.) Only a handful of the pictures in the collection were purchased through auction. Most of the pictures were acquired privately.

In fact, Wynn let it slip that he had just acquired a beautiful new Manet and that the somewhat eccentric seller made him promise not to hang the painting publicly until January. Like a kid who can't wait to show his friends a new toy, Wynn said that his new prize is sitting behind his desk in his office.

The multimillion-dollar collection -- the frames alone are worth between $30,000 and $50,000 -- is of such a high caliber, Wynn admits that he is somewhat concerned about being able to maintain that standard.

However, he is the one who raised the bar so high. For example, the Bellagio gallery is the only public museum west of Chicago where one can see major masterpieces by all four premier post-Impressionist painters: Georges Seurat, Paul Cezanne, Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gaugin.

The Cezanne is one of only 150 still lifes that the artist painted. It sold for $60 million at auction in May, and that buyer turned around and sold it to Wynn for what we can assume was more than that.

More than 1,000 people packed the ballroom at the Stardust Sunday night for the fourth annual Old Time Reunion dinner. The event celebrates the Las Vegas pioneers who had the good sense to establish themselves in this city at least 30 years ago.

Former mayors, showgirls, lieutenant governors, business leaders and entertainers all turned up to see old friends and mingle. Marjorie Barrick, former mayor Bill Briare, the Di Castro Sisters, Lonnie Hammargren and Bob Stupak were among the guests.

However, many "old-timers" couldn't help but lament the passing of event founders Jack Kogan and Paul Endy. Both gentlemen died earlier this year. It was hard to ignore the buzz going around the room that the level of performers at the event had dropped significantly and that the event was difficult to maintain on a yearly basis.

Whatever happens with the event in the future, it is a fantastic idea to honor those who contributed so greatly to establishing Las Vegas and making it the place that it is today. Hats off to the old-timers.

Odds and Ends

Demi Moore had dinner at Spago Sunday night. And no, she wasn't with her significant other (rumored to be her martial arts instructor back in Idaho). Instead, she dined with a small group of people and took in the sights at the Forum Shops at Caesars.

Wolfgang Puck and Barbara Lazaroff, along with Tom Kaplan and chef David Robins, will host a benefit to celebrate Nevada's first 100 female attorneys at Chinois on Oct. 21.

Spies in Santa Barbara, Calif., report that Brad Pitt and his (third or fourth?) true love, Jennifer Aniston, have purchased a home in the sunny Los Angeles suburb. It seems that the two lovebirds want to settle down and escape the hills of Hollywood, where Brad currently has a pad.

It's a no-brainer that the two will wed. They just need to decide when and how they will avoid the massive deluge of paparazzi that will inevitably attempt to spoil their day.

Crazy comic Carrot Top is using his name for something good with his "Trunk to Feed the Hungry" campaign. Top -- or Carrot, whichever -- and radio station KOMP 92.3-FM are joining forces to collect cans of food for the hungry at locations around town. If you make a deposit to the trunk, you can enter to win tickets to his show at the MGM, along with dinner at the Brown Derby restaurant and a night at the MGM Grand. Carrot Top's show opens Thursday.