MUST SEE DISPATCHES FROM THE ART WORLD

In a place obsessed with being seen, Maria Hummer and her husband, Bob Tuttle, both California natives, work behind the scenes to make Los Angeles the city for the 21st century. She has been practicing law for more than 25 years, and he is among the kings of car dealers. She is on the boards of the Music Center of Los Angeles County—currently building Frank Gehry's Disney Hall—and U.C.L.A.'s Hammer Museum. He is chairman of the board of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. They are the consummate power couple, sharing a passion for contemporary art. Her taste runs to the traditional—Agnes Martin—his toward the adventurous—Francis Bacon. "We made a pact that we would not buy anything unless we both loved it," Hummer tells me. "We each have veto power," Tuttle adds. This summer they'll travel to Documenta in Germany, the Basel art fair in Switzerland, and the Matisse and Picasso show at London's Tate Modem, but Tuttle is most excited about the Andy Warhol retrospective opening at MOCA. "It's fitting for the Warhol show to be here; he had his first gallery show in Los Angeles, at the Ferus Gallery," Tuttle says. Across town, the Hammer Museum will feature Milton Avery. "The first painting Bob and I bought together was a Milton Avey," Hummer confesses. Her warmth and enthusiasm are infectious. A. M. HOMES