Western Spirit museum strikes gold -- twice

Oct. 15—Imagine starting a new job, opening a desk drawer — and finding a winning lottery ticket.

Then, opening a second drawer — and finding another winner.

That, in a very rough fashion, describes the luck of Todd Bankofier, new CEO/executive director of Western Spirit: Scottsdale's Museum of the West.

Bankofier quickly struck gold with a $12 million donation by Louis "Buzz" Sands IV that will fund an expansion adding two new floors and two galleries.

But what to put there?

Enter the second gold strike, courtesy of art miner and supermarket chain founder Eddie Basha.

On Oct. 9, Bankofier and Western Spirit hit the jackpot a second time in two months, with the donation of the Eddie Basha Collection of American Indian and Western American fine art.

A staggering collection put together over four decades by the late Bashas' leader will be split between the Scottsdale museum and the Heard Museum in Phoenix.

"I don't necessarily think any luck was involved here," said Bankofier, who took the reins of Western Spirit June 1.

Rather than Fortuna, he thanked "visionary people in our community with a focused passion that see the importance of engaging the guests at the Western Spirit."

Last month, City Council unanimously approved expanding Western Spirit: Scottsdale's Museum of the West, funded by Sands, the automobile dealer, Western art collector and philanthropist.

The expansion — to be done by the designer-contractor duo of StudioMa and CORE, which built the museum at a cost to the city of $13.6 million — will include two floors and two new galleries.

The spirit of a second Valley businessman-philanthropist doubled down with a move that may be almost as valuable as the Sands' gift, as the Basha family is donating hundreds of rare pieces to Western Spirit.

At an Oct. 9 news conference, Gov. Katie Hobbs called Eddie Basha "an Arizona giant" and praised his generosity. Hobbs and Stephen Roe Lewis, governor of the Gila River Indian Community, both noted it was fitting for the Basha donation to take place on Indigenous Peoples' Day.

The Bashas' Gallery is on the site of the first Bashas' store, built in 1932, Hobbs noted.

"The Pimas were some of the first Bashas' customers," she said.

Lewis added his community has "longtime ties to the Basha family."

Basha, Lewis said, "understood our culture, our history ...He knew our language — and used to sing a couple of our songs."

Nadine Basha said her late husband's collection is in good hands and that "these two world-class institutions will be excellent partners in fulfilling Eddie's wish to continue to share the collection and have it remain in Arizona."

Edward "Eddie" Najeeb Basha Jr., who died in 2013, was the chairman and CEO of Bashas' Inc., Arizona's only family-owned grocery store company.

After taking over Bashas' when his father died, he and his fellow Bashas' members expanded the small company to a chain of 160 stores.

In 1971, under the encouragement and guidance of his aunt Zelma Basha, Eddie began collecting art inspired by and reflecting the American West.

"At Western Spirit: Scottsdale's Museum of the West, we believe in Eddie Basha Jr.'s vision that 'art is meant to be shared'

and we are honored to be a custodian of that vision," said Bankofier.

The Western Spirit leader also gushed over Sands' stunning gift — "the largest donation made to an art museum in Arizona history."

In an extraordinary slice of serendipity, the new gallery funded by Sands will house the collection of Eddie Basha, a kindred spirit in both philanthropy and art.

Sands, according to Bankofier, "knew Eddie Basha well, and was often an art bidding rival at Cowboy Artists of America auctions."

Big win for dreamer

Bankofier was hired to ride lead on Western Spirit just four months ago.

He took no credit for building a bridge with the Bashas, instead tipping his cap to his predecessor, Michael Fox, and "Jim Bruner, the founding chairman of Western Spirit. He's the one of the first people who had the dream of an American West museum in Scottsdale.

"And, Jim," Bankofier said, nodding at a beaming Bruner, "dreams do come true. Jim Bruner, thank you so very much."

After the public ceremony, the former councilman privately chuckled as he recalled starting a nonprofit in 2007 that had a big idea but nothing tangible.

"We had no money," Bruner said. "We had no art. We had no location. We just had an idea and a dream that we should somehow make a Western museum a reality in Scottsdale."

Eddie Basha was one of the first people he called for help, Bruner recalled.

Western Spirit: Scottsdale's Museum of the West opened in January 2015. The museum celebrates Western Heritage by showcasing art, culture and traditions of the West that reflect the greater American West region.

Eight years later, the back-to-back Sands-Basha donations left Bruner "humbled and honored."

Billed as "one of the largest, privately-owned art collections of its kind," the stunning gift includes 1,000 works of art that span three centuries, including paintings, sculpture, jewelry, pottery, katsina and basketry from the Akimel O'odham, Tohono O'odham, Yavapai, Apache, Hopi and Navajo tribes, members of the Cowboy Artists of America and many other artists.

While it will take weeks to move the entire collection, a few of Eddie Basha's favorites are already installed at Western Spirit.

Bruner said it was hard to express in words what the Basha family's donation of Eddie's extraordinary pieces means to him.

"I just wish that he were here to see what's happening," Bruner said. "But hopefully he's looking down on us."