This morning at 9:30 a.m., I got a call from Fritz, the son of my good friend Fred.

I said "This call isn't good, is it Fritz?"

He paused. "No, it's not," he said.

"Late yesterday, Dad died on the operating table."

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The last I heard from Fred was three days ago:

"So who designed the chair set and who makes it????????? Fred"

We were trying to figure out the designer of a table and chairs set we'd just seen.

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It's time you knew more about Fred, and why that last question from him is a good representation of what he was all about.

In Memorium

Frederick Brandt was a design lover all of his seventy one years. He was also the Curator of Decorative Arts/Modern Design for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and the personal Curator of the modern art collection of Sydney and Francis Lewis. Without the this museum, the Lewises, and Fred Brandt, modern design would've never had a home on the Atlantic coast any further south than Washington D.C.. Of this I am convinced. Without Fred's lifetime of efforts - guiding and advising the Lewises (and countless others) - the Virginia Museum would NOT have a modern wing, let alone a spectacular one.

His curiosity and love of modern thought and design is shown in his last quick email. He never stopped asking and learning. He and I helped each other with research, sources, connections, and shared our enthusiasm for twenty years. His own collection of Mission era design was astounding. He and I traded, debated, and hunted together.

If we went antiquing together, we had rules designed to keep us friends. One rule: we'd walk into a place, but one of us went left, and one right. We knew we were too competitive and couldn't stalk the same row/aisle together. So, we'd meet in the middle, alert the other to what we'd seen, and move on. At the end of the hunt, we'd compare notes and our "finds" side by side. We would also bid for each other at long distance auctions.

The Lewises were two of the wealthiest, most enthusiastic, and most powerful collectors of modern art in this country. They began the company "Best Products", which had a healthy life as long as they were in charge. I knew about the Lewises long before I ever met them. They were interwoven into my art history training as significant cheerleaders and funders of some of the most important art movements and architectural efforts of the 1960's and 70's. (From Warhol to Site Architecture Group.) I shopped at Best Products when I needed something because I knew how they used their wealth and influence. They helped artists and the arts. They felt indebted to their culture. They wanted to give back. When I had one of the biggest openings of my own art at the Virginia Museum, I skipped meeting folks like the Governor - and instead, asked Fred to take me over to the Lewises. THEY were who I wanted to meet and thank for their legendary careers.

Fred and I were very close friends. Though we lived a two hour drive apart, we used the phone and email a lot, and visited a few times a year. Each of us was always working on a research project, or some other point of shared interest.

I met Curator Brandt when he and the Curator of Modern Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts called me some twenty years ago, and asked if they could visit my studio to see my work. They had an exhibition in mind. We scheduled, and they arrived at my home. My home was, as it is now, full of my collections of not just art, but design. Fred, a collector himself, was blown away by what I had, what I knew, and what we shared. On that day, he and I found our Design Soul Mates in a region that often felt like a design desert. They (the Curators) liked my art, I had a resulting exhibition, it was a great experience (as were others), but my relationship with Fred was built on our shared enthusiasm of modern thinking and design, and our mutual love and respect of one another.

Only a few years ago did my wife, Pat, and I attend the funeral of Carol, Fred's nearly life-long wife, who we'd known and also loved for years. We all cried together, and tried to help Fred through a terrible time. Time passed and he formed a happy and vital relationship with his second love, Mary Lou. His kids and his friends were so glad to see him come out of his lonely blues. He even bought a silver Miata sports car, which he and Mary Lou loved taking on small trips. They were enjoying their new life together, moved into a new home, Fred was trimming down his collections (some of which I bought), and he and Mary Lou established a life together.

Fred was diabetic, and had blood pressure issues. He had not indicated to me he'd recently been feeling short of breath. When it felt serious to him - only a couple days ago - he went to his doctor, who scheduled surgery immediately. The doctors went in to repair clogging around stints they'd put in him awhile ago. There was too much scarring for repair, and the shock of this surgery killed him on the table.

God bless Fritz and his sister Karen. Fritz was barely holding himself together during our conversation, and I asked him if he'd rather I make the calls, but he said it was helping him get through the hours. I have contacted others via email. There are many, many people who need to know. We have not yet spoken with Mary Lou. It happened less than twenty four hours ago. Monday morning, I will help carry his coffin.

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I was
eating breakfast,
had the t.v. on,
I was planning my day
and working on my web site...
all my usual morning rituals... just like any of us... and then came The Call.

I will miss Fred in ways like I could no other. Close friends are too unique to be replaced. His death leaves another hole in my life and those of many others.

I wrote this for two reasons: in memory of Fred, and for you. Use these thoughts as you see fit.

Ronn.