At Home with Art

"Nympheas en fleur"
Claude Monet, 1915

In case you haven't heard, Christie's auction of David Rockefeller's magnificent art collection just broke all records as the biggest single-owner sale ever held at auction.  On May 8, 2018, a collection of forty four sculptures and paintings from the 19th and 20th centuries went for a whopping $646 Million (and the entire proceeds will go to charity).  And this was just the first group to be auctioned! The Monet waterlillies pictured above triggered a fourteen minute bidding war, and brought $84.7 Million. The winner was a telephone bidder--I can't stop wondering who it was.

Monet and Juan Gris in hallway at Hudson Pines

But more intriguing to me than the auction prices is the thought of these masterpieces hanging in the Rockefeller's homes over the years. The waterlillies hung over the staircase at Hudson Pines, the Rockefeller home in Westchester County, NY. Can you imagine walking by this painting every day on your way up and down the stairs??!

Picasso's "Young Girl with a Flower Basket", 1905
Photo courtesy of Christie's

Another masterpiece, Picasso's "Young Girl with a Flower Basket", used to hang in David Rockefeller's library, in his Manhattan townhouse. This one has a fascinating history. It was in the collection of Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein--major figures in avant-garde Paris of the early 20th century--who often hosted the likes of Hemingway, Matisse and Picasso in their home. When the collection became available
for purchase, Rockefeller could not afford it alone, so he put

"Young Girl with a Flower Basket"
Picasso, 1905

together a group of friends to fund a bid. They succeeded, and then drew numbers from a hat to determine who would get the first pick among the paintings. Rockefeller drew the first pick, and he chose this Picasso painting. It was widely regarded as the prize painting in the Stein/Toklas collection. Yet it is said that Peggy Rockefeller never cared much for it, hence its placement in her husband's library.  (The bidding on this on was lackluster this month--only one bidder, I have read, who was the so-called "Guarantor" lined up by Christie's in advance--but it sold for $115 Million).

"Reclining Nude with Magnolias"
Henri Matisse, 1923

And here's another little vignette from the Rockefeller home. How'd you like to have a Matisse hanging over your side table? This one went for $80.8 Million.  I personally love the  small scale Manet floral still life below. What a little treasure.

"Lillies and Roses"
12.75 x 9.75, Oil on Canvas
Edouard Manet, 1882

I suppose that most of these painting will now grace the homes of other oligarchs, all over the world. (The public did have one last chance to see them, when the collection toured in advance of the auction). Though I mourn the fact that the public will not have access to these masterworks, there is good news: Rockefeller had previously donated dozens of works to museums, which art lovers around the country can enjoy. I close with a couple of paintings from his collection that we can now see in museums--details in captions. Enjoy!

"Suburban Landscape"
Maurice de Vlaminck, 1905
Museum of Fine Arts Boston

"The Brioche"
Edouard Manet
Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

"Boy in a Red Vest"
Paul Cezanne, 1888-90
Museum of Modern Art, NY