When you have seven record-breaking, legend-making yellow Tour de France jerseys to adorn your walls, what’s a mere Francis Bacon?
A lot, it seems, to Lance Armstrong—self-described “amateur art collector”—whose walls in his spectacular 8,000-square-foot Austin, Texas, home happily trumpet the glory of art over sports. “You’re not going to walk in here and immediately get hit with championship trophies, because, frankly, I don’t like having my stuff displayed,” admits Armstrong, whose trademark jerseys are discreetly tucked away on the walls of an upstairs media room where “very few venture,” he says. “Other than some bikes in the garage, you wouldn’t know who lives here. My kids and I certainly never discuss all that. Obviously, they know Dad was a bike racer who won the Tour de France, but they also know that my main job now is cancer advocate—which is how I’d rather have them see it.”
