James Economos, the legendary art dealer, passed away peacefully on July 29 at the age of 80. His husband of 50 years, Gilbert Hampton, was at his side. Born in New York City, James studied at Columbia University. His eye for African, Oceanic, and American Indian art established him as a leader in the field and had a major impact on the development of many significant public and private collections, including the renowned collection at the St. Louis Art Museum. After living in New York and Denver, he settled in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he had an eponymous gallery. James Economos was born into a life of passion and business: for him, this manifest itself in a life of finding, collecting, buying and selling art. His parents, Peter and Pauline, Greek immigrants welcomed their second son into their life in 1938, in their apartment on the corner of 57th Street and Third Avenue, New York City. Surrounded by his extended family, James was raised among generations of entrepreneurs – au
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