"Larry has very much created an environment for himself, and he prides himself on that environment," Maresca says. "It’s not just a question of finding a bare piece of floor space or a bare spot on the wall. One thing needs to lead to another and create an almost filmic narrative as you walk through the house. If you want to know who Larry is, just walk around his home."

Dumont may favor American folk and outsider art, but taken as a whole his collection reflects an artistic eye that spans continents, centuries and sometimes sensibilities. In 20 years of searching he’s gathered quilts, masks, weathervanes, walking sticks and all manner of whirligig. In a niche in the fully outfitted basement, a Keith Haring "subway" painting hangs next to a farm scene by 20th-century Pennsylvania impressionist Walter Bahm, which hangs next to a 19th-century portrait (artist unknown) that resembles the work of 19th-century portraitist John James Trumbull Arnold (two of whose portraits, in fact, are displayed side-by-side in an upstairs hallway).

In an adjacent room, the former summer kitchen, a pair of traditional hats worn by the hill people of Thailand’s Chang Mai region sit atop an American-made wooden table, crafted in 1876 to celebrate the nation’s centennial, each of its 13 sides inscribed with the name of one of the original colonies. And there in a corner sits an industrial cheese strainer, some four feet in diameter, a stout, muscular contraption at once so incongruous and so perfectly at home that a visitor might come away wondering what art collection could possibly be complete without one. Purchase price: $500. "I just think it’s a beautiful object," Dumont says, sounding not at all defensive. "Do I need a cheese strainer? No."

And then he laughs a big, deep, extended laugh, a reminder that even the most sober pursuit of great art can on occasion indulge in unabashed silliness.

Christopher Hann writes on culture, travel and business for publications including The New York Times, Executive Traveler and Leader’s Edge.

Fleisher/Ollman Gallery, Philadelphia
215.545.7562 fleisher-ollmangallery.com

Olde Hope Antiques, New Hope, Pa.
215.297.0200 oldehopeantiques.com

Ricco/Maresca Gallery, New York
212.627.4819 riccomaresca.com