Rubell Museum Shawn Stussy Kim Jones / Dior Miami

Mera and Don Rubell: husband and wife, collectors. Over the years, the couple successfully invested in artists before they became well-known. Cindy Sherman in 1978, Jeff Koons one year later, then Keith Haring and Richard Price in 1981. If they believed in the continuity of a new artist, the Rubells would purchase almost the entire body of their work. When the prices of these pieces went up, they would sell several of them for the budget to proceed with the next, and so on and so forth, thus generating exponential economic value. They made each decision without the support of an advisor or anyone from the industry. A simple middle class couple, Don a gynecologist, Mera a teacher. In 1999, the Rubells purchased the entire body of work, nearly 3,000 pieces, of Purvis Young — a penniless and self-taught artist