The Aspen Art Museum’s ArtCrush event started seven years ago as a small party to get the ski haven energized about art and wine while raising money for the museum’s exhibitions. This year, the 350 tickets for the three-day event, which begins tomorrow, were all gone before the announcement went out, and there’s a waitlist of 100 hopefuls. While locals make up many of the attendees, patrons and collectors now jet in from Los Angeles, London and Mexico City. “ArtCrush is a draw because it has a stellar exhibition program, fun and philanthropic supporters, food and wine and, of course, the fabulous setting of Aspen,” Heidi Zuckerman Jacobson, the museum’s director and chief curator, said by phone. “There’s just no place like it.” The list of expected attendees includes David M. Solomon, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS)’s co-head of investment banking; Jennifer Blei Stockman, president of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, and her husband, David A. Stockman, former budget director under President Ronald Reagan; and Theodor Dalenson, co-founder of the Stockholm-based venture capital firm Novestra AB. Barclays Plc (BARC)’s wealth management unit found the event attractive for its art-loving clients and agreed this month to sponsor it for the next three years. The company will bring some of its clients from around the U.S. to ArtCrush, Jacobson said. Richard Avedon Photograph The event, which seeks to raise $1.5 million, will honor the work of visual artist and writer Roni Horn, known for work which sometimes mixes text and storytelling with photographs and drawings. Among the highlights of Friday night’s auction will be a work by Horn and a 1956 Richard Avedon photograph of the iconic, willowy supermodel Suzy Parker draped in a Dior evening dress. An untitled work by New York-based Pakistani artist Huma Bhabha also will be up for auction. ArtCrush has become a magnet for current and new patrons as the 32-year-old museum seeks to raise $50 million for its capital campaign. So far, the institution, which has chosen to focus on temporary exhibitions and not collect any art, has raised $44 million. The museum is scheduled to move into its new 30,000-square-foot home, designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, in 2013. “By not having a collection, we can focus on having a dynamic and pro-active exhibition program,” Jacobson said. Wine Tasting The art lovers who also appreciate a fine Burgundy or Bordeaux can indulge their palate at WineCrush, a dinner and tasting event tomorrow night. It will be held at the Aspen home of MSD Capital LP co-founder John Phelan and his wife, Amy Phelan, a Guggenheim Museum board member. Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, who joined the Aspen Museum board this year, is scheduled to attend. At Friday night’s ArtCrush dinner and silent and live auctions, sommeliers will serve more than 20 Italian, French and Australian wines. The Burgundy list includes a 1990 La Tache and a 1995 Echezeaux from Domaine de la Romanee-Conti. “People who are connoisseurs of art are also connoisseurs of wine,” Jacobson said. “You get a holistic experience, and all of the senses are covered by combining art with wine.” To contact the writer on this story: Patrick Cole in New York at pcole3@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff in New York at mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net.

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