How was the idea for the Willo and Felix Gallery first conceived?
Alice and Dickon were four-wheel driving along a precipitous mountain track with a five-hundred-foot shear drop into an azure Mediterranean below, on the Island of Monte Argentario, off the Tuscan coast of Italy. Dickon was describing his love of this part of the Italian coast. Alice had closed her eyes for moment, listening to Dickon’s descriptions of possible photo shoot plans for the afternoon ahead. With her car window half down, air wafted through her window and Alice could smell hints of salt from the sea far below and also gentle fragrances from the wisteria growing wild on the mountains above her. Suddenly, a sixth sense came upon Alice, and she instinctively turned around and looked behind her, and there to her astonishment, were the silhouettes of Felix and Willo sitting in the back seat of the car. Willo was dressed in his black dinner jacket, with his monocle covering his right eye, while Felix was wearing a white cashmere sweater with pearl buttons, her ballerina’s legs crossed elegantly in front of her, while she stared intently at her son Dickon, listening to his words as he drove. Alice turned to Dickon and said, “Willo and Felix, they are with us.” Dickon said, “I know, I can feel them.” This moment occurred in October of 2019. It prompted numerous conversations between Alice and Dickon as they both had felt the power of this experience, yet were embarrassed to admit to their experience for fear of people mocking them. Over a Martini at the El Pelicano Hotel Bar that night, Alice and Dickon decided to dedicate their new gallery to Willo and Felix, in tribute to their courage, leadership and artistic creativity. Even though Willo and Felix may not be able to travel the world on future photo shoots with Alice and Dickon in person, we hope their spirits can live on through their inspiration to the art we create in their name.