![\"Jeffersontown](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/K4HEHDHZ7ZB65BX4XTP2MHY3ZE.png\")
Jeffersontown couple shares huge collection of local art(WAVE)<\/p>\nJEFFERSONTOWN, Ky. (WAVE) – When you think of cities with an impressive art scene and a high number of artists, you likely think of New York and Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
But a local couple wants you to think of Louisville, too.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s not an empty wall in this Jeffersontown property, where more than 1400 pieces of art are hung. They say they feel like they are living with friends.<\/p>\n
Jeffersontown couple shares huge collection of local art(WAVE)<\/p>\n
\u201cNow there are over 800 different artists in the house. All the names are getting jumbled,\u201d joked homeowner Larry Shapin.<\/p>\n
Their collection started in 1975 when Shapin wanted something for above his bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw this piece, and I really liked it. And I didn\u2019t have the 500 dollars to buy it,\u201d Shapin said. \u201cShe (the artist) let me pay her $15 a month for like three years.\u201d<\/p>\n
That artist was Mary Ann Currier. She became one of the most acclaimed painters. Her work is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.<\/p>\n
When he met Ladonna Nicolas, they immediately bonded over another piece of art he owned. It\u2019s a statue of a woman.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, \u2018Where did you get that? I was the model for it,\u2019\u201d Nicolas said with a laugh.<\/p>\n
Since then, they\u2019ve added. And added. They built a gallery onto their house.<\/p>\n
And then during the pandemic, they built their art barn.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe ran out of space,\u201d Shapin says.<\/p>\n
![\"Jeffersontown](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/U3PBACBYGJCMVKAV5B5Z67SD4M.png\")
Jeffersontown couple shares huge collection of local art(WAVE)<\/p>\n
The real estate developer likes to get to know the artists and the story behind their creations.<\/p>\n
Of all the pieces they own, Nicolas\u2019 favorite is of a coyote head that drools.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like a dog,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Speaking of dogs, they even have a robotic dog named Buddy that knows quite a few tricks.<\/p>\n
The couple gives many tours of their collection. They once gave a tour to a group of art curators.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey said they\u2019ve never seen anything like this in their life,\u201d Shapin said. \u201cThey said no one in the world really collects just Louisville artists or just LA artists or just Manhattan artists.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many of the pieces are from up-and-coming artists.<\/p>\n
Some are more famous. They own a bronze head of a soldier by Ed Hamilton.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the most famous living artist in Kentucky,\u201d Shapin said.<\/p>\n
Now they\u2019ve started a 501c3 called the Shapin Nicolas Art Project or SNAP.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to leave the property here to a foundation so people can enjoy the work hopefully for hundreds of years,\u201d Shapin said.<\/p>\n
They continue to add to their collection when something speaks to them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re hoping to continue all of our hard work, to help the local artists, collect, and educate people,\u201d Nicolas said.<\/p>\n
So, their friends on the walls can continue to inspire future generations.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2025 WAVE. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JEFFERSONTOWN, Ky. (WAVE) – When you think of cities with an impressive art scene and a high number…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":345405,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[172656,228,226,227,229,88,172651,172653,172654,172659,172655,172650,172652,172657,172658,104576,104577],"class_list":["post-345404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-art-collections-louisville","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-jeffersontown","tag-jeffersontown-couple-with-huge-art-collection","tag-kentucky-couple-with-huge-art-collection","tag-ladonna-nicolas","tag-larry-shapin","tag-louisville-art","tag-louisville-couple-with-huge-art-collection","tag-shapin-nicolas-art-project","tag-shapin-nicolas-art-project-or-snap","tag-wave-news","tag-wave3"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/345405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}