“It is somewhat unusual, but remember Walter Hopps went from Ferus Gallery to the de Menil collection.” —Eli BroadHopps: Born 1932, raised in Los Angeles.
Deitch: Born 1952, raised in Hartford, Connecticut.
Hopps: Studied at Harvard (no degree).
Deitch: Studied at Harvard (MBA).
Hopps: Partnered with artist Ed Kienholz in founding the Ferus Gallery, which went bust.
Deitch: Partnered with Jeff Koons on the "Celebration" series, ending up millions in debt.
Hopps: Did 1962 show of pop art, "New Paintings of Common Objects," in Pasadena and Warhol show in Houston (both blasted as banal and commercial).Deitch: Appropriated Warhol's banal commercial logo.
Hopps: At age 31, was first art dealer to head a major museum (Pasadena Art Museum, then L.A.'s principal venue for contemporary art).
Deitch: At age 58, was second dealer turned major museum director (MOCA).
Hopps: Commissioned Renzo Piano's best museum building (the Menil Collection).
Deitch: Hired by Eli Broad, who commissioned Piano's worst museum building (BCAM).
Hopps: Arranged for Marcel Duchamp to play chess with a nude woman (Pasadena, 1963).Deitch: Got Kanye West to drop in on a Vanessa Beecroft performance with 22 nude models (Long Island City, 2009).
Hopps: Did 2003 James Rosenquist show for the Guggenheim.
Deitch: "Jim's a friend."
Hopps: "a gonzo museum director — elusive, unpredictable, outlandish" (Washington Post, 2005).
Deitch: "a controversial appointment"… "the enfant terrible of the New York gallery scene"… "a quirky figure," etc., etc. (Brand X, Gothamist, and Cityfile New York).
Hopps: Mounted first museum retrospectives of Duchamp, Kurt Schwitters, and Joseph Cornell.Deitch: Big on James Franco and Kehinde Wiley.
Hopps: Died in Los Angeles.
Deitch: Probably not.
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