Dennis / Yan

Dennis in seventh grade (front row, fourth from left) with 1965 Football Team at St. Saviour School, Cincinnati, Ohio.

With the Queen Mother at Clarence House, London, 1974.

Pastel on paper, signed Georgia O’Keeffe in pencil, verso, 14 ½ x 11 inches, titled Red Flower and dated 1927 on labels.

Dennis in 2023.

Yan in 2022.

Telecommunications law and fine art collecting—see the connection?  Yeah, we admit it: we didn’t either, at first.  But when classmate Dennis Corbett began explaining to Yan Chow the surprising route his life had taken since Harvard, the bridge between the two began to emerge.

Dennis was a lawyer specializing in radiofrequency spectrum issues, taking on the FCC on behalf of his clients, when, through the influence of his now ex-wife, a talented artist, he developed a passion and eye for art. And it was about two decades ago that he began collecting in earnest, entering the expanding world of online art auctions. In other words, he combined his vocation (high tech) with his avocation (fine art).

He has had thrilling moments, acquiring pieces attributed to Arthur Dove and a possible pastel by Georgia O’Keefe (who, he reminds us, was awarded an honorary award from Harvard in 1973. Did you spot her? Sadly, we didn’t.) He grapples with the ever-elastic concept of “value” of art, and in the end concludes that, as with friendships, the true measure of art’s worth is often only realized over time.