Copyright Baton Rouge Advocate
On a quiet street near Bayou Teche in New Iberia, where live oaks cast long shadows, Becky and Wyatt Collins’ yard gives away their secret. A gigantic wire rabbit sits on a bench reading a book. A two-dimensional redheaded girl pedals a giant metal tricycle. A Statue of Liberty holds her arm high and in welcome outside a front window. One step inside the front door, and visitors see it’s no ordinary home — every wall, shelf, table and corner tells a story in color, clay, tin foil or even less expected media. This New Iberia couple doesn’t just collect art. They live in it — and with it. “Some people live with pool tables or big TVs," said Becky Collins. "We just live with folk art." More than 2,000 pieces of it, in fact. Art is stacked floor to ceiling, spilling into every corner. "We have valuable pieces of art sitting on the floor because we don't have a place to hang it," Wyatt said. Art is in the foyer, hall, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, living room, back bedroom, garage, man cave, along the back fence and in the side yard — filling every nook and cranny of the Collins' lives. "What is stunning about Becky and Wyatt's art collection is its depth," said New Iberia-based filmmaker and screenwriter James Edmunds. "They have been collecting for a long time, and always with wise eyes." They have pieces in their collection from acclaimed folk artists — Clementine Hunter's paintings, Edgar Tolson's wood carvings and more. They also have pieces created by artists no one else has heard of, much less collected. Their home, like their life together, feels equally improvised and intentional — curated without being overly precious. Everyone is invited to join the fun, share a meal or come to the party. Wyatt's smoked pork loin and Becky's chicken and dumplings are known far and wide. Neighbors say the couple simply doesn't know how to cook for two. "Becky and Wyatt are wonderfully warm and generous with their gifts. No one will go hungry in their neighborhood," said Anne Darrow, of New Iberia. It's the kind of home where there's always an extra serving in the pot, an extra plate for the table, an empty chair just waiting to be filled. Nothing is behind glass. Nothing is too sacred to touch. Art and life overlap. Neighbors drop by. Their house is as full of laughter as it is of art. Like when they explain how they met. "Wyatt was the new boy at school. He was standing at the edge of the playground digging a hole with his toe," Becky says. "That's not true," Wyatt says with an eye roll. "Yes, you were," Becky continues. "Standing over there all alone. My twin sister and I walked over there and adopted him from that day forward." He mockingly gave up before continuing, "Of course, that's exactly the way it happened. I was shoeless. It was winter. I had let my big toe's nail grow out so I could dig holes faster." Becky laughs. "See what I mean," she said. "It's never boring here." In fact, the couple did meet as children at school in Ellisville, Mississippi. She was a grade ahead of him. They grew up, remaining friends through the years. Becky, now 80, became a special-education teacher, specializing in working with children with autism. Wyatt, now 79, went to law school and worked with the District Attorney's Office in Jackson, Mississippi. Photos: A walk through New Iberia couple Becky and Wyatt Collins' 2,000-piece folk art collection They reconnected later in life and, this week, will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. They chose to live in New Iberia, and five years after moving to the small city, Becky was tapped as Citizen of the Year. She calls herself a "worker bee." What's her secret? "Show up. Show an interest. Be reliable. Be dependable," Becky said. "Every community is looking for people who want to contribute. I have never lived anywhere in my entire life that I didn't find a way to contribute, whether I lived there for a short time or a long time. We were raised with the premise that you always make wherever you are a better place." Wyatt isn't afraid to work hard either. When they got to New Iberia, after he retired as an attorney, he got a job teaching history at Westgate High — and taught for 11 years. Just as their relationship rekindled with time, so did their shared love of art. Their shared interest in art goes back to childhood also, with Becky's connection being a more direct through-line. Becky grew up in a family of creators. Art was encouraged at every stage of growing up. She taught art and creativity classes for years. Wyatt's interest was quieter, but he remembers on school trips always finding a way to spend time in museums. Their interest in folk art started by collecting Louisiana artists Chestee Herrington and Rita Fontenot. When they discovered the Kentuck Festival of the Arts in Tuscaloosa — considered by many the granddaddy of folk art festivals — Becky and Wyatt took things to a new level. Becky says she follows her heart to find pieces while Wyatt follows his head. "To get pulled into the wondrous world of Becky and Wyatt Collins is to be humbled by their passion for Louisiana as a state of great cultural and artistic depth, inspired by their love of folk art as an expression of the human condition, and touched by their generosity in small ways and big," said Miranda Restovic, president and executive director of Louisiana Endowment for the Arts. Mark Tullos, executive director of the LSU Museum of Art, has been following the Collins' folk art collection for more than 20 years. He says they've really grown in their sophistication and praises Wyatt's deep knowledge and eye for art. "Some people collect for the investment purposes, the prestige," Tullos said. "He's one of those rare people who collects because it's his passion. It's a joy to be with people like that." Wyatt's passion has garnered the attention of folk art experts around the country — including being the first person not from Alabama to be named to the Kentuck Festival of the Arts' board, which he served on for six years. Tullos describes the Collins folk art collection as "very comprehensive." "It will be interesting to see what they do with their collection," Tullos said. "If New Iberia doesn't establish a museum, I know we would be interested — as well as many other institutions." Becky regularly brings visitors to the house for tours, because she says, "Wyatt is always so generous with his information." His near-encyclopedic knowledge of the stories of the artists who made them draws in even skeptics. With more than 400 art pieces in storage, Becky is in year-round curation mode. For Thanksgiving, she loves to use a turkey carved by Guy and Dolly Skaggs from Happy Gizzard Hollow, Kentucky, and some hand-thrown pumpkins from an artist in Lafayette. Then, she'll add some Native American Choctaw baskets. "We want you to touch it," Wyatt said. "If something breaks, we can repair it. It might hurt the value a little, but that's OK. We enjoy living with it." The couple opens their home to friends and friends of friends passing through town — and for some folks who make the trip to New Iberia to see the world-class collection of folk art. "One thing about folk art is that they'll find something they like," Wyatt said. "They'll look at one thing and wonder why somebody would pay $200 for that. Everybody who comes over, probably the first thing they think is, 'I couldn't live as cluttered as this,' but then they find something they love." One of the couple's goals is for other people to see that ordinary people — like schoolteachers — can bring together a wonderful folk art collection, Becky says. They hope to inspire others to do the same, she added. In a town that loves its stories, Becky and Wyatt Collins have built one of their own — told not in words, but in color, kindness and the open doors of a home that just happens to be filled with art.
