Page 70 - David Bermant Foundation

“David was really in awe of how an artist came up with something. He always asked, ‘How did you think of that? How did that cometo you? How did you get that idea?’ He was always fascinated with how you arrived at an idea. It’s hard to explain how you do it, but it was something he had a deep appreciation for, that’s for sure.”—James Wines“David was interested in the survival of the artists he patronized. He was interested in their welfare, their life in general, whether they were gonna make it through the next year, whether they were eating three meals a day. He was that kind of person, in terms of personal generosity. He was also kind of a gruff person, probably a formidable foe in his real estate dealings. I’m sure he wasa tough cookie when it came to dealing with that shopping center world. But with most of his artists he was incredibly generous and understood that we were really struggling to do something, usually for purely idealistic reasons.”—James Wines“One last thing needs to be said. Your energetic and total commitment to us and our work, David, has not only renewed our commitment to it, but given us hope that it will be seen in our lifetimes as work that is some of the most important being done today. Your efforts must seem thankless at times, as ours do to us, but I have no doubt that the future will redeem it all.”—Letter from Clyde to DWB, October 26, 198169