I don’t think anyone uses that line anymore, but it was a hot phrase back in the 1900s—and the idea behind it goes back much further than that!

Some of us start young. We start with rocks. They catch our eye while hiking, and soon we have a row of pocket-sized bits of ancient history in different colors and shapes. We learn their geological names. We go on to find out how they came to be. Each one might bring back the memory of a time and place when we reached down, picked it up, and put it in our pocket.

When we start to collect art, something changes. We set out on an uncharted journey.