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Then I wanted to get a book out of it. So I went to Pilgrim Press, and I said to Esther and to Paul Sherry -- I'll let you publish the book.” Before that we had to get a curator for the exhibition. The first person, Milton Glaser, who I went to see to test him on it said, “Great.” I said, “We'll need someone to be the curator, to really be more than a curator. Someone to administer the project. So you really need a fine, well, talented person who knows the art world, but is a good organizer.” Milton said, “The person for this is Myrna Davis. She is terrific.” So I went back to Paul and I said, “You didn't tell me.” I said, “Myrna!” Myrna said, “No, I'm working on a book.” She was working on another book, so she couldn't do it. But they said, “There is someone who could be a curator” -- see I got Nina Felshin to be the curator. “But this person could help in curating, and also administer the project. Her name is Pamela Vassil, and she's just left her job as art editor of the OpEd page of the Times. She's out on the coast with her father right now, visiting. Here's her phone number.”

I called Pam Vassal, and that began a wonderful friendship with Pam Vassal. Pam said, “When I come back, we'll talk.” I discussed it with Pam, and Pam said, “Look, I have to make a living. I can't” -- you know. She said, “How much can you pay?” I said, “Not enough.” She said, “You know, what you're proposing is something that would be a a full-time job, that would last probably twelve to fifteen months.” So I said, “Why don't you figure out what would be involved, the kind of thing that could be done and should be done for the thing. But keep in mind that I have 15,000 dollars for you.” So she came back with an outline of what had to be done, and could be done. She said, “15,000 dollars is ridiculous. I need 40,000 dollars to live for a year.” She says, “But I'll get other work. I'll do this, I want to do this.” So Pam signed on.

Nina had to leave early, because she took a job in Cincinnati as the curator of the Contemporary Art Center. So Pam took over the whole thing. The original division was that in selecting artists, Nina would select fine artists and Pam would select the graphic designs. So then Pam took over the whole thing.

Then the question of narrowing down hundreds and hundreds of quotations. The original proposal to the endowment was for sixteen. But then the more we talked to people, they said, “Sixteen's not an exhibition, and sixteen is not a book.” So I said, “How much?” They said, “Thirty-two.” I said, “Thirty-two! You're doubling my cost. I have to get thirty-two artists, the book gets bigger. Everything is going to get bigger, and it's going to be twice as much!” They said, “Well, you've got to do it.” I said, “Okay, I'll find the money.” Then I had to