Connected To The City

Larry Shapin and Ladonna Nicolas feature the works of local artists in their Louisville, Kentucky, home.

- John O’ Hern

Larry Shapin and Ladonna Nicolas’ home in Louisville, Kentucky, was once a 3,000-square-foot house on over 10 acres. As their collection has grown, the house has grown—to 16,000 square feet. Since they choose to live with their art, not keep it in a warehouse or a separate gallery, and since they continue to collect, the house will probably grow again. The collection currently comprises about 1,200 pieces by 330 artists.

The unique character of their collection is that it began with a Louisville artist when Larry purchased his first painting in 1975 and has continued to focus on artists from Kentucky, from 17-year-old high school artists to an artist who is 99. Even Larry’s new car was built in Kentucky.

Art also had a role in the couple getting together. When Larry brought Ladonna to the house to see his collection about 17 years ago he showed her a sculpture he had bought 25 years ago. She told him she had been the model for the sculpture. It was destiny! Ladonna shared his love for art. “At the time, I was buying one or two pieces a year,” Larry explains. “Lately, we’ve been buying one piece a week.” “And we’re not going to stop,” Ladonna adds.

Larry’s first piece was Mary Ann Currier’s Frilly Lilies. “The woman I was dating at the time wanted to go to an art opening. I had never been to one,” Larry says. “I liked the painting, but it was $500 and I didn’t have $500. But I worked out a deal with Mary Ann to pay her $30 a month. When she died last year, she was a close friend and Kentucky’s most famous contemporary artist.”