David Rockefeller was the grandson of John D. Rockefeller – oil magnate and industrialist who founded Standard Oil Company. David and his wife, Margaret – or Peggy – travelled extensively and collected voraciously. But, only of the best of the best. And, supposedly, they both had to agree on any purchase.
If you don’t think it is the best of the best, then take a look at what is hung on the walls of the Christie’s showroom. Spend your time wisely ogling absolute masterpieces from a list of painters that span much of art history. Along with collections (plural) covering all of art history from ancient Chinese bronze and porcelain, to French Sèvres porcelain made for the Emperor Napoleon I. The collection even includes hand-carved duck decoys.
You will find paintings by Eugène Delacroix, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Georges Seurat and Auguste Renoir. And, Edward Hopper, Willem de Kooning, Alexander Calder, Georgia O’Keefe, even Diego Rivera. Oh, wait, and a lot more!
The Water Lilies of Giverny on Display
A water lily painting by Claude Monet, Nymphéas en fleur, will transport you instantly to Giverny, Monet’s estate outside Paris. Pablo Picasso’s Fillette à la corbeille fleurie (Young Girl with a Flower Basket) is from 1905. Gertrude Stein bought this work from Pablo Picasso himself. There is also Henri Matisse’s, Odalisque couchée aux magnolias, which according to Christie’s, is “among the greatest of Matisse’s paintings in private hands.”
Where can you see things like this? At auction houses in Paris. So, if you want a small dose of museum quality art, and maybe even on a very specialized subject, check out the auction houses.
Remember if you decide to purchase something at this auction, all revenues from the sales will be donated to philanthropic causes. Estimates start as low as $200. Because of this, plan to get your wallet out.
If you are in Paris during this extraordinary exhibition, go to Christie’s to see a collection that will likely never be together again.
The Collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller
Where: Christie’s Paris
Address: 9 Avenue Matignon
Arrondissement: 8th
Nearest Métro: Franklin D. Roosevelt
When: March 16-21, 2018
Official website: https://www.christies.com
