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 Was it that
long ago that Miami Beach was populated only with nice, gentle
Jewish ladies of a mature age? Okay, so maybe Sophie Tucker and
Belle Barth would tell you that the Beach was never without a
saucy old lady or two, but ours were always cut from a more
colorful cloth. Even today, South Beach’s leading lady of
naughty has managed to raise the bar even higher. At 72, Naomi
Wilzig is not only the mistress of the World Erotic Art Museum
on Washington Avenue; she may be the holder of the largest
collection of erotic artwork in the country.
At one time,
Miss Naomi, as she’s known, could have become an average Miami
Beach resident — the kind that used to sit in lawn chairs on
Ocean Drive, bronzing her skin to a nice raisin-like glow. She
grew up in an Orthodox household and married Siegbert “Siggi”
Wilzig. He had survived Auschwitz to become president and CEO of
the Trust Company of New Jersey. But, the simple life of a bank
president’s wife, attending dinner parties and charity affairs
full-time, was not to be. Her son Ivan (Sir Ivan to the club
kids) made a strange request of her one day: He wanted her to
pick up some erotic art as a housewarming gift.
She got a kick out of cruising for pieces that
were often kept out of sight, and once her collection reached a
significant size, she knew she had to show everyone the breadth
and depth of eroticism in the arts. The collection, which is
valued in the millions, spans many continents and cultures. It
ranges from the kitsch to the sublime to the ancient, and from
the practical to the iconic. As well as collecting art, Miss
Naomi has also lectured on human sexuality at Pasco-Hernando
Community College and has published several books about her
collection.
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