n the past decade, Goldberg has made an increasing commitment to collecting art that blends fantasy and reality in dreamy complex tales. Gail Boyajian's Fresh Pond Fantasy, 1998 is a nighttime enigma set in the same locale as Michael Mazur's realistic Running Man, 1979. This five-paneled painting, presents a visionary view of Fresh Pond in Cambridge at dusk. From left to right, the panels each present a slightly different scene juxtaposing real with past memories and fantasies. The first panel, with traffic light, rat, raccoon and some trash, presents a modern urban setting. In the second, the night thickens and the sense of fantasy grows, as dogs (based on Antonio Pisanello's The Vision of St. Eustace, c.1440) frolic by the pond. The third panel features a portrait of Gertrude Stein ( who visited Fresh Pond when she lectured at Radcliffe College) copied from Picasso's famous 1906 masterpiece. In the fourth panel is a portrait of Henry James, who wrote about Fresh Pond. The fifth and final panel depicts the birds, flora, and fauna that exist at Fresh Pond. The sunset increases the mystery, as the shadows appear and let the imagination run wild.

Solitude, mystery and psychic intensity co-mingle in the haunting small mixed media work of Candace Walters. Her oil stick on board Moondance, 1990 is reminiscent of the enchanting night-time fantasies of Belgian Surrealist Paul Delvaux. Here in a hilly landscape, a nude woman emerges blindfolded from a green urn. At her sides, partial images of herself, seen frontally and from the rear, dissolve into the dark night sky. An allegory of womanhood, the curtained image is rendered with a mastery of illusion, but still retains a foothold in the realm of the unconscious.

When asked about his personal axioms for collecting, Goldberg replied, "The artist [I collect] must have a wonderful ability to draw and make historical reference to the masters." It is a respect for the tradition of illusionist painting going back to Renaissance masters that continues to guide Goldberg's collecting. "I once read that the creation of work will only have meaning in reference to the tradition in which the innovator has been thoroughly informed. I try to collect artists who respect the tradition of their art and I like to watch them grow. I see parallels in my own tradition of collecting." This is also apparent in Goldberg's choice of collecting artists who employ Old Master techniques and materials in novel ways. Suzanne Vincent's Striped Pants, 1997, depicts a young girl against a background of silver-leaf. Her painting Brush, 1999, is a tempera on panel painting of a young girl having her hair brushed. The techniques of silver leafing and egg tempera are adapted from Medieval and Renaissance masters, but the youthful fashions and poses give Vincent's imagery a Pop twist.

New York artist Brett Bigbee, another graduate of the eminent realist art school, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, is also able to use his knowledge of painting's tradition to create realist images that have relevance to his own contemporary life. Goldberg recently purchased Bigbee's Couch, 1990-3, an over/life-size black-and-white graphite and chalk drawing of a curvaceous nude seated on a floral print couch. In this drawing, Bigbee, whom Goldberg describes as "a faultless realist", presents the viewer with a delicate and minutely detailed frontal rendering of his wife, Ann Binder, holding a small flower in her right hand. The curves of her breasts and belly are reflected in the patterns and shape of the decorative sofa. The densely interwoven lines give the drawing's surface a dreamy and velvety appearance, and a still, surreal clarity exists in the overly precise renderings.

Another realist with a unique edge to his art is Ridley Howard, a recent graduate of the Boston Museum School. Hester, a portrait of Howard's next door neighbor, could also be a fantasy portrait for Arthur Goldberg. Hester, a solitary human being, swings on an old-fashioned wooden bench, which hangs mysteriously from the sky. His rich green lawn is filled with innocent creatures of nature. Small rabbits and birds accompany the sitter. There is no apparent loneliness here, more a joy in being part of a "peaceable kingdom."

veryday truths and realities seen from unusual and sometimes disturbing vantage points fill Goldberg's collection of Figure, Fantasy, and Illusion. His tastes and choices have evolved over time. A good art collection must develop as the collector develops, and reflect the personality and interests of its owner. Goldberg's collecting style over the past two decades has changed with his own life. "It is not by sheer accident that I have changed the temper and tone of my collection. I've collected pretty art, confrontational art, and happy art. When there was turbulence in my life I collected art that was turbulent."