He later closed his gallery, returned to his native New York, and developed a second career as a painter.
[1] In the last decade of his life, Wilder lived in New York on Manhattan's 11th Street and developed a second career as a painter, creating "abstract assemblages".
[7] His obituary in the Los Angeles Times described him as "a genteel man of impeccable manners with a hippie bent" and that "...those who knew him best, particularly his artists, came away impressed with his modesty, frankness, humor and the purity of his passion for art.
Wilder felt that despite his "natural instincts" being those of "a politician, entrepreneur and gambler" he had to look for a profession where he could be deemed acceptable and that "being an art dealer is an occupation for disenfranchised people" concluding that he "never knew a good one who wasn't a woman, Jewish or gay".
[8] Wilder helped promote the work of many New York-based artists in California, including Helen Frankenthaler, Barnett Newman, Jules Olitski, Kenneth Noland, and Cy Twombly.
[7] Wilder displayed the work of Ronald Davis, Robert Graham, Allan McCollum, John McCracken, Bruce Nauman, Peter Young, Bill Pettet and several others at the early stages of their artistic careers.
[7][4] Wilder estimated that he had made over 100 trips outside the United States seeking clients and selling art during the 14-year tenure of his gallery.
The art market had changed by the mid 1970s and Wilder's gallery became less financially viable, which Wilder attributed to his "extravagance and lack of business sensibilities" and less appetite among buyers for the work of unknown and younger artists.
[3][2] Wilder closed his gallery on December 31, 1979, having previously given his clients a year's notice to find new representation.
Now it's all about institutions and money" and commentated that one of the reasons for the closure of his gallery was that "Big name artists were getting too expensive".
The catalogue to the exhibition featured an essay by art historian Katherine Bishop Crum.