Donald L. Bryant Jr.
Donald L. Bryant Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 30, 1942 Mount Vernon, Illinois, United States[1] |
| Died | March 1, 2025 (aged 82) Napa, California, United States |
| Other names | Don Bryant |
| Alma mater | Denison University Washington University in St. Louis |
| Occupations | Vineyard owner Art collector[2] |
| Board member of | Formerly on the Board of Trustees of MoMA[2][3] |
| Spouse | Barbara Bryant (1982–2007) Bettina Sulser Bryant (2009) |
Donald L. Bryant Junior (June 30, 1942 – March 1, 2025) was an American businessman, art collector, vineyard owner and philanthropist.[4][5][6] He was the chairman of The Bryant Group, a St. Louis–based wealth management firm. His Bryant Family Vineyards in Napa, California, produces some of the country's most highly-rated wines.[7]
Early life and education
Bryant graduated from Denison University in Ohio in 1964, and from the Washington University School of Law in 1967.[8]
Career
He owned Bryant Family Vineyard, a boutique winery in Napa, California, and The Bryant Group, an executive compensation and wealth management firm in St. Louis, Missouri.[5][9][10] As a vintner, he purchased his first vineyard in the late 1980s and initially replanted it entirely with cabernet sauvignon vines to both reflect the terroir of California and the traditions from Bordeaux.[8]
Art collection
Bryant moved to London for a year when he was 51 in order to study art history. He toured 47 different museums and employed a curator from Tate Museum to teach him about twentieth century art. He later became a trustee of the Tate;[8] as well as being formerly on the Board of Trustees of MoMA in New York.[2][3] He has several times been named among the world's top 200 collectors by ARTnews magazine.[11][12] The Bryant collection includes works by Jasper Johns, Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock,[13] Alberto Giacometti, Jean Dubuffet, Robert Rauschenberg, Ellsworth Kelly, and others.[12] An Andy Warhol portrait of Marlon Brando, purchased by Bryant for $5 million just a decade before, was sold by Bryant in 2013 for $23.7 million.[12]
In 1999, Bryant purchased Christopher Wool's painting Apocalypse Now, but sold it two years later to Christie's chairman François Pinault, allegedly because his wife could not live with a work that said "SELL THE HOUSE SELL THE CAR SELL THE KIDS".[14]
Personal life
Bryant's marriage to Barbara Bryant ended in divorce in 2007.[6] The couple had three children.[6][11] In April 2009, he married Bettina Sulser Bryant, an art consultant and former ballet dancer, with the couple reportedly living in New York.[7][13]
Bryant died in his Napa home on March 1, 2025, due to natural causes.[15][16]
References
- ^ "Donald Bryant Jr. Obituary (1942 - 2025)". Legacy.com. 6 March 2025. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
- ^ a b c Cohen, Patricia (1 February 2013). "Collector Says He Will Donate Johns Works to MoMA as promised". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- ^ a b Ross, Barbara (January 25, 2013). "Deal between MoMA bigs goes bad". New York Daily News. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
- ^ Pomorski, Chris (26 June 2014). "Embattled Art Collector Sells UES Gallery-Apartment for $12.975 M. – Observer". The New York Observer. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- ^ a b Neuman, William (30 July 2006). "A Private Gallery Is Born". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- ^ a b c Peterson, Deb (May 2, 2009). "A glitzy wedding at Napa vineyard". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- ^ a b Chung, Juliet (September 11, 2009). "The Museum Downstairs: Donald Bryant's Upper East Side Duplex Doubles as his personal art gallery". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
- ^ a b c "Entrepreneur Donald L. Bryant Jr. '64 awarded alumni citation – Press Releases". Denison University. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- ^ Schlachter, Kyle (30 December 2012). "Interview: Don Bryant of Bryant Family Vineyard". Decanter. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- ^ Kussin, Zachary (26 June 2014). "Donald Bryant Jr – Donald Bryant Art". The Real Deal New York. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- ^ a b Morgan, Mary (31 July 2006). "Box Step". St. Louis Magazine. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- ^ a b c "The Top 200 Collectors: Bettina and Robert L. Bryant Jr". ARTnews Magazine. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ^ a b Desloge, Rick (September 6, 2009). "Don Bryant files lawsuit against Bryan Cave, Brody". St. Louis Business Journal. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- ^ Silver, Vernon; Tarmy, James (October 9, 2014). "The 350,000 Percent Rise of Christopher Wool's Masterpiece Painting". Bloomberg Business. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ^ Greenberger, Alex (17 March 2025). "Donald L. Bryant Jr., Vineyard Owner Who Amassed a Treasure Trove of Art, Dies at 82". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
- ^ "Remembering Donald L. Bryant, Jr". www.winebusiness.com. 11 March 2025. Retrieved 23 November 2025.