Dancer and choreographer Twyla Tharp once said, “Art is the only way to run away without leaving home” and while that’s certainly true, art can also be the impetus to flee one’s comfortable nest to discover the people, places, and peculiarities of the wide, wonderful world. Few individuals have exemplified this reality more than Park West employee Donna Morrison Musto.

After 38 illustrious years selling art, building a community, and traveling the world via land, air, and sea, Musto has now worked her final VIP cruise, a remarkable journey through the Far East from Singapore to Tokyo. Soon, she will say a final farewell to an expansive global community of artists and collectors, fellow employees, and Park West Gallery executives who have been pivotal in her long and winding road from a wide-eyed, art-loving teenager with a dream of traveling the world to the dedicated VIP art associate who has cruised over 100 times with Park West VIPs. She has been fortunate enough to step foot in countless countries on every continent, and to have been surrounded by art all the while.

We recently spoke with Musto to learn about her start in the mid-80s, her favorite moments as a Park West employee, and her retirement plans. Donna Morrison Musto couldn’t stress enough just how blessed she’s been in her life and career. She has never wanted to be in the spotlight, always deferring to the fabulous artists and their stunning artwork, so being interviewed for the first time in her life was yet another surprise in her career. As a high school kid, she told us that she had a humanities teacher who opened up her eyes to all things art—visual art, music, and more—and soon she began collecting art, noting that she always felt that art was part of her, part of her soul, and that she needed to have art nearby throughout her life. She thought she might be an artist herself, but aside from dabbling in photography, with a dark room in her home, Musto confessed to not having the creative talent to make it a career. However, art was destined to be in her life in even more specular ways! Art was still calling Donna Morrison Musto’s name and was about to open up the entire world to her in a way neither her 18-year-old self nor her high school humanities teacher could ever have imagined.

Not only did Musto accomplish and far exceed her lofty teenage dreams, she often did so with her husband by her side. He was able to accompany her on so many memorable Park West VIP voyages, from Antarctica to the Arctic Circle, North Africa to Vietnam, and almost everywhere in between.

Donna Morrison Musto has seen the art world from the inside and has been a part of the industry’s growth and evolution from art sold as is—rolled up without frames and carried off cruise ships by passengers—to fixed-price purchases of framed art in Albert Scaglione’s original gallery next to a pizza shop in a suburban Detroit strip mall, all the way to the multi-million dollar business it is today. Park West’s half-century of success is owed to passionate individuals like Donna Morrison Musto, brilliant contemporary artists, some of the true legends of the art world, and lively auctions online, on land, and at sea that has helped to make fine art accessible for all. And through it all, for 38 years, Musto has been there, wearing a smile that has warmed the hearts of thousands of collectors around the globe. It will not be visible in the female figures of Tarkay or the olives of Godard, but behind so many works of art hanging in collectors’ homes and offices today is Donna Morrison Musto’s passion, zest, and joy for life and art. Her love for art has helped foster community, and her dedication to her job has made the lives of so many others brighter, bolder, and better.

Musto first worked at a few other art galleries in Detroit, San Francisco, and Chicago, selling art and as a Gallery Director, before arriving at Park West as an art associate in 1987. She came to Park West because her husband was an employee first and way back in 1969, she actually visited Albert Scaglione’s very first gallery! Musto knew all about Park West and was eager to be a part of the art revolution that was underway.

Donna Morrison Musto would go on to call Park West home for the next 38 years, originally helping to grow our business in the picturesque Park West Museum in Southfield, Michigan, before becoming a vital piece of the puzzle as Park West launched the VIP program. Eventually, Musto set sail on a brand new voyage. She soon called the oceans and seas of the world her new home away from home as the VIP program expanded to glamorous cruises on ships lined with exclusive works of art from some of the most impressive and critically important artists of our time. Musto’s role was to care for Park West’s VIP collectors on cruises, curate works of art from artists they’ve already collected as well as exciting new names in Park West’s ever-growing roster of talent and finally, to be a friendly face that could always be relied upon to deliver personal service with an enthusiastic smile.

Having been nearly everywhere that has a port of call, we couldn’t help but ask Musto where she loved to visit the most. Without hesitation, she said Liverpool, England. As a huge fan of The Beatles, Musto has spent time in the famous city during VIP cruises of the British Isles. She has walked Penny Lane and listened to live music inside the Cavern Club, but what brought her to tears was the opportunity to stand in John Lennon’s childhood bedroom. She told us that as she looked out his window, she imagined what a young Lennon saw and dreamed about, and she cried tears of joy. Musto reflected on her own life in that moment too, considering her dreams and her ticket to ride on ships to everywhere on Planet Earth—including places even John Lennon and The Beatles didn’t visit!

With a love for her job and for the people she’s met along the way, there’s no doubt that Donna Morrison Musto would work eight days a week, but the time has come to say hello to retirement and goodbye to her amazing life as a VIP Art Associate. But that doesn’t mean her traveling days are over! Oh no, Musto says that her new dream is to venture inland more, maybe to Austria and Germany, maybe to step off into storybook villages from the deck of river cruises. And as always, with her husband saying, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” everywhere they go. She hopes to still cross paths with her VIP collectors and fellow Park West team members out there in the world, appreciating art, exploring new cities and cultures, and recognizing the blessings this life has and continues to provide.