Issue link: http://summerguide.uberflip.com/i/1535299
The Way It Used To Was The Helen and Napi Van Dereck Collection Although Napi was born in Chicago, Napi was conceived here on Captain Jack's Wharf and even bumped into Bette Davis while in his mother's womb at the Barnstormers' Theater. His mother wasted no time getting him back to Provincetown that summer of 1932. It is these early memories from his childhood that drew Napi to collecting images of Provincetown "the way it used to was". Napi's collecting had much less to do with the talent or fame of the artists who painted them as it did with the subject matter. Each piece in his collection tells a story, a piece of his story. Napi described his collecting passion as a search to gather "memories". Napi managed to acquire several versions by different artists of the same subject matter,. Each painter brought a different perspective and captured the view much differently. Napi and Helen opened their restaurant in 1975 and invited Frank Milby and other local artists he knew to hang their art on the walls in the late 70's. This sparked Napi's interest in the idea of collecting art. Napi and I first crossed paths in 1985, when he and Helen ventured across the Sagamore Bridge to attend one of my auctions in Cambridge. He was surprised and happy to learn that there were other people that actually knew about The Provincetown Art Colony. We spent many an evening chatting about collecting in his office while listening to the Prairie Home Companion. At Napi's request, I agreed to conduct the first consignment auction for the Provincetown Art Association and Museum in 1988. Business was good at the restaurant and since Napi had no other vices, he would hold his bidding paddle high in the air until he had won the lots he had come to purchase. It is a difficult task to single out specific works as being more noteworthy than another in order to illustrate the depth and importance of the collection. Currently over three hundred fifty artworks are on extended loan as a promised gift to PAAM. Sharing the collection with the public had always been a priority for Napi and Helen. Numerous exhibitions featuring selections from the collection have been mounted at the Provincetown Art Association & Museum, The Pilgrim THE WAY IT USED TO WAS BY JAMES BAKKER www.summerguidecapecod.com 123