}); His own parents bought the land around 1969 from the Rainier Brewing Company. The Best Carry-On Backpacks for Every Traveler, The Best Luxury Luggage for Traveling in Style, A Guide to 8 Hotels in The Reluctant Traveler. It also has Wilsey's painful quest for love, understanding and acceptance from his mother, former San Francisco Examiner society columnist Pat Montandon; his late father, philanthropist and food magnate Al Wilsey; and in particular, his stepmother, Diane "Dede" Wilsey, one of the city's most powerful and admired arts patrons, who led the 10-year- effort to build the $202 million new de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. You may wish to switch to the. Everything in the Gettys house was just so special. I now have an entire bathroom, dressing room, bedroom at my house in Napa covered in these paintingsjust wall to wall. I bought a [Mary] Cassatta woman with a baby. What was your first purchase (and how much did you pay for it)? My father didnt have that kind of security. Ive hung it on my powder room doorvertically, instead of horizontally. Its the most beautiful picture of a girl in a fabulous negligee, lying on a sofa reading a book. Festival Napa Valley was founded in 2006. FIESTA Da de los Muertos celebrates life with music, dancing, art, and flowers. // Check if ouibounce exist before calling ouibounce I dont care. She is the chairman emeritus of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. + '
' Napa Valley's flagship festival presents international stars and emerging talent in free and affordable concerts in iconic venues, and to audiences virtually worldwide. And make this a better place and respect the climate and respect people from all countries and understand that unless they work hard to make it better, were in real trouble, she says sounding more like a politician than a grandmother. setTimeout(function() { //if there are cookies indicating that we shouldn't show the signup bar, then the modal won't have been added to the page setNewsletterCookie('closedSignupBar', 1); You cant tell the difference. Dede Wilsey has been a supporter of the de Young Museum in San Francisco since 1998, but she only began collecting art for herself a few years later, when she was looking for a place to put her energy after the death of her husband, dairy and real-estate tycoon Al Wilsey. When she'd come to San Francisco in 1960, she was divorced from an Air Force major. And no civilization has ever survived where you have only rich and poor. //if any of these cookies are found, we don't show the modal. I mean you dont want them to blow your child up, Wilsey says seriously. It personally hurts my feelings to have people talk about a city that I love and say, I dont want to go there anymore, she says, and you can hear the distress in her voice. It was held, fittingly enough, in the de Young Museum's central court . map, photo credits | site by tmarks | dev by, 2023 nimbus arts tax ID: 27-1503762, Galbraith, Mayor of St. Helena and Supporter, Continued Support from Napa County Art and Culture Advisory Committee, Benefits of Artmaking on Mental & Emotional Health, Napa Valley Coffee Roasting Co.s Nimbus Creativity Blend, CL 1 Foundations in Clay: Hand Building and Wheel Throwing Techniques, PD 1-2 High School Master Artists Open Studio. Microsoft has removed the Birds Eye imagery for this map. "In any discussion about Napa Valley culture, the first two words that invariably come up are "wine" and "food." . //default prefix is 'artnet_newsletter_' So Id like to have a live one. Image courtesy Christies. top: 'auto', Its not random. "In my opinion, most of these books are written for one of three reasons -- money, self-aggrandizement or a vendetta," she said. Son of Pat Montandon and the late Al Wilsey, stepson of Dede Wilsey. Deceased. And it's notable that Trevor's mother is the brilliant Dede Wilsey, a breath-takingly effective fundraiser and philanthropist in San Francisco. And living in a house like this, you realize that a great big kitchen and a great big porch are really where you want to be., For his part, Trevor adds that even the houses indoor living can feel somewhat alfresco: I joke that were camping here, because we have 18th-century wallpaper. Though they both grew up in high-style households, Trevor says, were very casual and we arent at all fancy here., Trevor and Alexis are undoubtedly the chicest couple I know, says design impresario Ken Fulk, a close friend. Dede Wilsey is a San Francisco socialite, Republican donor and philanthropist, and the widow of San Francisco businessman Al Wilsey. This story appears in the November 2017 issue of Town & Country. I was in Maastricht to lead a group from our museum [the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco]a building committee, because we were building the de Young Museum at the time. signedUp: { She got a job at I. Magnin, married and divorced again and threw theme parties for the social set that attracted media attention. function addCss(fileName) { if (!onSuccess) { $('body').on( 'click', '.close-signup', function(){ There were two choices: Be without one museum or rebuild it. My parents always had friends around and there was a lot of entertaining, and summer was spent hereall summer.. + 'Please enter a valid email address' This isnt the first reporter shes entertained, and its probably not the lastbut she is so candid I feel as if Im chatting with one of my oldest girlfriends. } isnewsletter = pagetypeurl.includes("?page_1"); + '
' As happens with some memoirs, author and subject appear to be in two polarized camps, with Wilsey's friends protecting him and his stepmothers' friends protectively closing ranks around her. Since then, I have been buying 19th-century or early 20th-century Maltese or terriers. I don't think that Dede would pay attention, and I don't think she should. // ------------------------------------------------------------------- "So many memories are connected to being outdoors," Roman says. Formerly married to John Traina, who went on to marry Danielle Steel after Dede Wilsey married Al. She is a grandmother on the loose, with good taste. Thats me with my husband and partner in crime, Trevor Traina. It was just magical. And she relishes the process that comes with each new exhibit. It never ceases to amaze me.. She is the chairman emeritus of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. + '
' Its like having a mini-course every time we have a new exhibition. She and Wilsey were fixtures on the social axes of San Francisco and Napa Valley, where they maintained a country house. She specializes in portraiture and creates images that feel like intimate X-rays, pictures full of textured physical details set against back-drops of personal history. + '
' By continuing to use our sites and applications, you agree to our use of cookies. It is a peculiar feeling to think its not your father, its your son.. } And that is a marvelous position to be in. (By the time Al Wilsey died of respiratory failure in 2002, father and son appeared to have reached a loving accord.). I am truly a happy camper!, Dianne Martinez, Nimbus Arts first ArtPass holder, The caliber and quality of Nimbus Arts programming is exemplary. And I typically react when I see something and it touches me. crossDomain: true, Festival Napa Valley celebrates musics unmatched power to enrich, uplift and inspire. regex: { I couldnt care less. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. setTimeout(function(){ Hotel Mousai Puerto Vallarta, Room Request: Four Seasons Hotel Bogota Casa Medina, New Restaurants and Bars in New York City, Clare V., Mulberry and More New Retail Openings in NYC, Our Favorite New Tech Gadgets and Devices Right Now, Carbone Opens in The Dallas Design District, Stylish New Reads From Louis Vuitton and YSL, Get behind-the-scenes pictures on Instagram. They are confident and bold in how they live. Its as if shes seeing it for the first time. Dec 5, 2022, By She is the widow of Alfred Wilsey, who . However, Montandon, reached by telephone at her home in Beverly Hills, said that she had read it and that her son was brave to write it. Penguin Press has already devoted considerable energy to a pre-publicity tour with independent booksellers, which are generally intended to garner favorable word of mouth that can build and propel a book to higher visibility in chain stores across the country. + '
<\/i>' She was a part of the search committee that found the new director of the, Another thing she loves about the museums? }, My mother-in-law, here with my daughter Delphina, is known for philanthropy, her collectors eye, and, in Napa Valley, her vineyards in Rutherford surrounded by gardens and a miniature train station. }); We spend our weekends tinkering with old cars. closedSignupBar: { } Giovanni Antonio Canal, Il Canaletto, Entrance to the Grand Canal looking East, with Santa Maria della Salute at right. + '<\/div>'; Weekends in Oakville are generally spent sans guests and are passed mostly outsideby the pool or on the tennis courtsin the company of the Trainas two children, Johnny and Delphina, and their Jack Russell terrier, Honey. While Wilsey is not the kind of household name that will automatically make his story a blockbuster, Penguin Press appears to be counting on Wilsey's story to have more than Bay Area appeal. + '<\/div>' The fact that in the Bay Area no female is as graceful and giving as Wilsey. And I love the fact that its a constant learning experience and then you work with wonderful people., Wilsey has just finished her latest project with the museums. var d = new Date(); Now theyre reinventing the narrative of wineand doing a good job at it. d.setTime(d.getTime() + (expMinutes*60*1000)); She remains a prominent figure in the artistic and . We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. In fact, doing so is something of a family tradition. function setCookie(cname, cvalue, expMinutes, prefix) { if (!o[this.name].push) { Mine was wine; Claiborne (center)s, photography; and Veronica (front)s, fashion. She married shipping magnate and art collector John Traina in 1965, and had two sons with him (Todd and Trevor Traina). Says, Bill, pictured here with Deborah, Ultimately were building a culture around wine and hospitality that we all hope will last for generations. He is heir to a name that has long been synonymous with Napa. Repressing his emotions caused anger, rage and hate, but at Amity, he writes, he found a tenderness in the teaching program that allowed him to open up. In October, she funded the museums acquisition of Canalettos Venice, the Grand Canal looking East with Santa Maria della Salute. Well, Im sure there are several and Im sure I have sold them by now. The catalyst was the Russian National Orchestras annual summer residency in Northern California, starting in 1999. After her marriage to Al Wilsey went south, Montandon went East -- to Egypt, the Vatican and Russia -- with a children's brigade advocating world peace. Dede has had a residence in the heart of the Napa Valley since 1970. (function defernl() { . Her universal generosity to the arts, schools, local . + '' } Dede Wilsey. Dede Wilsey's House in Napa, CA (Google Maps) (#3) Napa, California (CA), US. When I was growing up here, we had this thing we called scary walks, and after dinner wed go out with our flashlights and walk through the vineyards. 2023 Artnet Worldwide Corporation. // ------------------------------------------------------------------- )+([a-zA-Z0-9]{2,4})+$/ Matthew Kelly Iwas just visiting my one son who lives in Austria, now, she mentions casually. I must sit here behind this guard. And I said, Fine. On October 10, she emailed us an .css-gegin5{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#9a0500;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-gegin5:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}update after evacuating from Yountville, and this week, she sent us news that she and a number of local winemakers, chefs, and other concerned citizens (including many profiled in this story) have partnered with Tipping Point to form Napa & Sonoma Relief, a fund that will provide support to those most impacted by the fires. e.preventDefault(); The drive from San Francisco to the Napa Valley takes only a little more than an hour, but for tech entrepreneur and IfOnly CEO Trevor Traina and his wife, Swanson Vineyards creative director Alexis Swanson Traina, the two places feel as far away from each other as possible. } // Submit the form In Europe, she came across many who said they no longer wanted to visit SF because its filthy. Early in life, he decided that emotions "had made my mom crazy, and I would not succumb to that." Traina was nominated by President Trump and approved by the Senate, before he moved his wife, Alexis Swanson Traina, and two children, to Europe. Great. Trainas security detail isnt for every ambassador, only the Israeli Ambassador and the American Ambassador require the extra protection because of ISIS. Dede Wilsey is a San Francisco socialite, Republican donor and philanthropist, and the widow of San Francisco businessman Al Wilsey. "The clich 'truth is stranger than fiction' may well have been coined to describe Sean Wilsey's wild, wise, and whip-smart memoir." Elle "[An] irreverent and remarkably candid memoir about growing up in wealthy eighties San Francisco . } But that doesnt mean Wilsey, or any of her family, will hide. Subscribe to our newsletter to get the breaking news, eye-opening interviews, and incisive critical takes that drive the conversation forward. On Thursday we open the Al Thani jewel collection, which is magnificent., Wilsey also sits on the boards of the San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Balletboth causes that she champions and supports. It is a nurturing environment where I feel comfortable at work with my new creations and benefit being surrounded by such talented people and their positive energy. // FUNCTIONS head.appendChild(link); } "I'm surprised I'm in the book -- I wouldn't know Sean Wilsey if he walked in my front door," said de Wildt, a Hollander known for his witty one- liners and scathing put-downs. Stepmother of Sean Wilsey. Since then, Dede has built a formidable collection of Impressionist art, and has continued to help the de Young and its sister museum the Legion of Honor grow their own. He went on to become winemaker at Harlan Estate and Bond, producers of some for the most sought-after cult wines ever made in the United States. As an adult, he began to stand up to what he describes as her verbal put-downs. var ca = document.cookie.split(';'); } Romance novelist. Its very relaxing, watching her enjoying her book. He writes that Dede Traina was his mother's best friend and suggests his father had been involved with her romantically for some time before his breakup with Montandon.