Episode 66: Richard L. Weisman

Host Ed Sutkowski talks with art collector Richard Weisman, who brought his collection of Andy Warhol sports paintings to the Peoria Art Guild for a special weekend exhibition.

Richard, the son of Fredrick and Marcia Weisman, embraced the arts at an early age. His business beginnings, however, related to his employment by City National Bank in Beverly Hills as a registered stock broker and later as a trainee with Wertheim & Company. During his tenure, the organization grew from four to 30 brokers. In 1979, he was with Lerand Securities as an asset manager specializing in high net worth individuals and pension plans.

Richard's family is actively involved in the arts. His uncle, Norton Simon of Hunt Foods Inc. was reputed to own the most significant private collection of art, consisting of more than 12,000 paintings including works by Picasso and Raphael. Richard's own collection includes the Andy Warhol Athletes Series featuring silkscreens of sports icons Muhammad Ali, Jack Nicklaus, Chris Evert, William Shoemaker, Pele, Tom Seaver, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, O.J. Simpson, and Dorothy Hamill.

Richard has served on the boards of Pacific Northwest Ballet, Seattle Art Museum, National Board of United Cerebral Palsy, UCLA and the University of Colorado.