ART & COLLECTIONS / NEW-YORK
The Rockefeller collection: the largest art auction of all time
The collection of David and Peggy Rockefeller was offered for sale in May 2018 at Christie’s auction rooms in Rockefeller Centre in the heart of New York City. Sixteen hundred batches were sold realizing 832.6 million of dollars which will benefit twelve institutions including universities, museums, medical searches and environmental organizations.
About the Rockefeller family’s collection
The constitution of the collection first started with John Davison Rockefeller, the industrialist who founded the Standard Oil Company in 1870 and the Museum Of Modern Art of New-York in 1929. His grandson David Rockefeller and his wife Peggy Rockefeller both increased his tremendous collection while building an empire linked with the arts, culture, business and philanthropy throughout the world. Their thriving collection includes a selection of American and Asian art, English and European decorative art and more than seventy porcelain services from China, Japan, Korea and Europe. It also reflects the family’s passion for Impressionist and Modern Art painters with unique masterpieces of Edward Manet, Pierre Bonnard, Vincent Van de Gogh and Pablo Picasso. The beauty of the collection and the exceptional dimension of the auction fascinated me.
The dispersal of The Rockefeller collection at Christie’s
Christie’s, which has been in charge of the auction, deployed considerable means in order to achieve the expected success. Hugh inventories were led. Exhibitions were presented in Hong Kong, London, Paris, Los Angeles, Pekin, Shanghai and New-York and within ten days, all the batches, divided into six live salesroom auctions and height online auctions, were sold. The auction process appeals me and revealed to me that significant changes had occurred in auction houses which are now more modern and innovative than ever, using all the materials at their disposal. Christie’s, for instance, led a real marketing campaign by promoting The collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller on social networks, like Instagram or Facebook or on their website, or by publishing new videos, articles, and interviews every week. The modernization of auction houses is, in my opinion, a very good trend as it will impact favourably the art market by creating new opportunities like opening auction sales to new countries, helping anonymous artists or developing charity auctions.
The most significant charity auction composed by Masters and Masterpieces
I was interested in this auction not only because of its dimension but also because of the masterpieces presented. Indeed, this collection gave the world the opportunity to see prestigious artworks for the first time, to fully appreciate their shapes during exhibitions and even to buy them. I really appreciate Pablo Picasso’s masterpiece « Fillette à la corbeille fleurie » from his Rose Period. The girl’s look catches the spectator attention and brings him out of the reality. Furthermore, auction houses are often criticised as being elitists company only motivated by profits. This auction reminds us that auction sales can be motivated by other values like charity. It looks like mentalities are changing and a lot of collectors now want to share their collections with broader audiences or helping nonprofit organization with the profit of their sales.
To conclude, the dispersal of the Rockefeller collection was, in my opinion, a unique sale reminding how magic auction sales can be. It also symbolized the modernization of auction houses and the affirmation of the emerging posture of collectors in the art world.
Articles : POTARD Marie, « Collection Rockefeller, la vente du siècle », Journal des Arts, du 20 Avril au 10 mai 2018, n°500, p. 39.
Website : www.christies.com
Images :
Henri Matisse, Odalisque couchée aux magnolias,1923.
Pablo Picasso, Fillette à la corbeille fleurie, 1905.
