The Lowdown: Fay Gold

After 35 years with the Atlanta newspapers, Marcia currently serves as Retail VP for the Buckhead Business Association, where she delivers news and trends (laced with a little gossip).

Atlanta is chock full of interesting “movers and shakers” – some bent on creativity, empire building, activism, the sciences, and/or just plain having fun and living the good life. Lean in to hear some of the “off the cuff” remarks as to what makes our spotlight Fay Gold tick.

Gold, an Atlanta arts legend, founded the Fay Gold Gallery in 1980 with a mission to bring contemporary art to the South. She exhibited Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Robert Mapplethorpe, Cindy Sherman, Robert Rauschenberg, Alex Katz, and Radcliffe Bailey. Fay received her BA in speech and theater from Adelphi University in 1953. In 1966, she moved to Atlanta with her husband, Donald, and three children. Gold started her backyard art school and bought pop art with her earnings.

Her awards include The Big Thinker, The Creating Pride, The Diva for Life, and the Nexus Award. Gold was the commencement speaker at the University of Georgia, and Lamar Dodd School of Art. Atlanta Magazine named her one of “The 50 Who Made Atlanta.” She has served on the boards of Savannah College of Art and Design, the Louise Nevelson Foundation and more. Her gallery exhibited in New York, Miami, Chicago, Basel, London, and Paris. She curated collections for Coca-Cola USA, Greenberg Traurig, Georgia Power, and Buckhead Life.

Get The AJT Newsletter by email and never miss our top storiesFree Sign Up

On Sept. 19, she will be honored at “Art is GOLD,” a black-tie gala at Woodruff Arts Center to benefit National Jewish Health. Her memoir, “Basquiat’s Cat,” will be published in 2024.

Find out why Gold was born to be bejeweled.

Jaffe: Your favorite night out…Gold: EVERY night! My darling boyfriend, Jack, treats me to dinner wherever I want to go out! I’m a lucky girl!

Jaffe: My fave cocktail is…Gold: Depends on my mood! It could be a slightly dirty Kettle One martini straight up, a Cosmo or a Kir Royale.

Jaffe: What’s on your nightstand?Gold: My charging iPhone, my trusty readers, my current book club selection, “Dust Child.”

Jaffe: Most people don’t know…Gold: I was born in a house on Spartanburg Road in Greenville, S.C., and moved to Brooklyn when I was 2. My mother’s maiden name was Diamond and mine is Gold, so I have the jewelry thing covered!

Jaffe: If you could wake up and find one new piece of art here…Gold: A Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Anselm Kiefer, Cindy Sherman or Jeff Koons. Decisions, Decisions!

Jaffe: Your biggest fashion disaster?Gold: I love my naturally tumbling curly hair and was convinced to get a chemical perm. The resulting curls were so tightly wound I resembled a French poodle!

Jaffe: Last time you danced…Gold: At Blind Willie’s Blues Club to the sounds of William Reed and the Juke Joint Dukes!

Jaffe: Your most memorable vacay? Gold: Antarctica. I went with my fellow travel adventurer son to celebrate his 60th birthday. It was spectacular!

Jaffe: Your first job?Gold: At 17, I was as an extra on the movie, “So Young, So Bad,” starring Rita Moreno and Paul Henreid. It took place at a reform school for troubled adolescent girls.

Jaffe: What’s your secret “dip” into the Fountain of Youth?Gold: I’m 91 and flying like a butterfly! Looking back at the highlight reel of my life, what a sweet ride it’s been! Exercise, healthy eating, and my joie de vivre slow down the march of time.