the Times does Trollope

Students of the New York Times know that Saturday’s paper tends to be rich with stories rather than hard news (and that it’s often a great read for that reason). This past Saturday was no different.

My favorite story was about Sue Hancock, an idle-rich nouveau riche “nobody” and former resident of Ohio and Orlando, Florida, whom the Times celebrates as the new breed of art collector:

“When I first started out, none of the galleries would sell to me because they’d never heard of me and I lived in Orlando,” Ms. Hancock says. “They won’t sell to you if they think you’re just trying to flip the pieces to make money.”

She has also hired a series of art consultants — often people who are curators and collectors themselves — to whom she pays a commission based on what she buys.

“Right now we have the convergence of a buoyant market for luxury goods and a heightened mass interest in contemporary art,” said Jeffrey Deitch, who owns the Deitch Projects galleries in Manhattan, and who sold Ms. Hancock some of her first paintings. “A little while ago someone like Sue Hancock wouldn’t have been interested in this.” He went on, “Collecting has allowed her to enter a rarefied social scene and I’m sure it’s been a good investment.” But at the same time, he said, “She really does seem to have connected with the art.”

Maybe so. She’s certain to have connected with a PR professional or two, however—because (what a coincidence!) the unknown nobody Sue Hancock went on to make an appearance in Sunday’s New York Times too.

Jeremy Kost, the photographer behind [a new] show, “Not a Play Area,” described one shot that was removed after the opening on Feb. 2, which attracted hundreds of people. “It was of a guy who had his hand in his underwear, and his face was contorted and he was covered in raw red meat,” he said.

Mr. Kost mingled with the 40 guests who attended his cocktail party Monday night, among them Susan Hancock, an art collector dotted with diamonds,

Maybe I’ll sign up for a Times alert to see how Ms. Hancock does in her collecting-climbing