S aul and Ellyn Dennison didn’t simply build a collection defined by a particular theme, scope or medium. It was the collection, rather, that defined an important new chapter in their lives, one that would continue until the very end. The act of collecting—the joy in acquiring defining, decisively important objects—brought them to art fairs and galleries around the world, as they forged relationships with visionary curators and dealers, resulting in holdings representative of the art of their time. For Saul and Ellyn, art wasn’t meant to fill walls; they built walls to house it. The collection they assembled over 40 years, led by works by Mark Tansey, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, and Richard Serra, among many others, paints a portrait of their collecting journey and lives dedicated to, surrounded by, and in support of the arts.

Assembled by equal measure through instinct and intellect, conviction and connoisseurship, the collection began in earnest in 1980, when Saul and Ellyn joined a museum patron’s trip to London. On that trip, they first began to understand what it meant to own and live with art after visiting private collections and artist studios. Some of the earliest work they acquired was from emerging talent shows at the Guggenheim Museum curated by their daughter, Lisa Dennison. But it was truly their engagement with the New Museum, and Marcia Tucker in particular, that put them on the path to collecting in earnest, where initial curiosities swiftly blossomed into an all-consuming passion.

Their subsequent travels in pursuit of radical, era-defining works increasingly revolved around exhibitions, fairs, and biennials, and dealers such as Marianne Boesky, Mary Boone, Barbara Gladstone, Curt Marcus, Andrea Rosen and Donald Young also proved to be trusted advisors in their education as collectors. Emerging artists formed the vast preponderance of their collection early on, although anchored by more established figures such asGeorg Baselitz, Barbara Hepworth, Sigmar Polke, Jackson Pollock and Gerhard Richter. Ultimately, many of these artists were deaccessioned to make space for mid-career artists, including Richard Artschwager, Ross Bleckner, Francesco Clemente, Jenny Holzer and David Salle. Saul and Ellyn not only supported but truly believed in the potential of the artists working around them, artists who today are recognized as canonical voices of the Downtown New York scene in the 1980s.

Saul and Ellyn’s evolving sensibilities found a natural home at the New Museum. In 1990, Saul joined the Board of Trustees after telling Richard Ekstract, a friend and magazine publisher, that he wanted to find a way to give back to the art world that had opened so much to him and Ellyn. Introduced to founding director Marcia Tucker, Saul and Ellyn recognized in the institution something that resonated profoundly with their own flourishing instincts as collectors: a fearless commitment to experimentation and emerging artists.

Saul and Ellyn’s impact on the institution was felt almost immediately. During the recession of the early 1990s, when the museum was faced with financial difficulties, Saul proposed that trustees donate artworks to contribute toward the institution’s fundraising goals. Saul and Ellyn immediately contributed six paintings from their own collection, and other trustees followed their example. In 1995, he personally oversaw the expansion of the New Museum at 583 Broadway, and four years later, when Henry Luce III stepped down as President of the Board, Saul was offered the role. During his tenure as President of the Board of Trustees from 1999-2013, he worked closely with Lisa Phillips, and together they guided the institution through one of its most ambitious periods, culminating in the development of the New Museum’s landmark building at 235 Bowery, which opened in 2007. After completing fourteen years as President, Saul was named Chairman, later Chairman Emeritus—a title he held for the remainder of his life.

As their engagement with artists and institutions deepened, so, too, did their own life as collectors. When they moved to Bernardsville, New Jersey in 1983 they envisioned a home that could grow alongside their collection, including ample space for outdoor sculpture. Over time, they expanded the house, adding an entire wing dedicated to art, and would often host museum groups, collectors and artists, personally guiding visitors through the collection. “Every corner of the house was filled with art,” their daughter, Lisa, recalls, “and there was always room for more.” In 1993, the Morris Museum in Morristown, New Jersey presented Living with Art: The Ellyn & Saul Dennison Collection, an exhibition that captured the spirit of their approach.

The Saul and Ellyn Dennison Collection stands as the culmination of a life shaped by art. The collection today reflects decades of institutional leadership, friendship with artists and dealers, and, above all, an unwavering belief in the creative output of their time. At every juncture, it was their love of collecting—the pursuit, the relationships, the trust, taste and vision—that guided them, and today, these works represent how Saul and Ellyn Dennison lived and the communities they built around them.