Rockefeller Art Collection to Christie's, Spring of 2018

The fine and decorative art collection of David and Peggy Rockefeller will be sold in the spring of 2018 at Christie's.  The sale will benefit over a dozen charities, and will included approximately 2,000 items.

The NY Times reports on the sale.

The personal art collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller will end up at Christie’s — no surprise, given the return to that auction house from Sotheby’s of Marc Porter, who has a long working relationship with the Rockefellers.

But on Wednesday the estate of David Rockefeller, who died in March, also announced that the proceeds from the Christie’s sale of over 2,000 items would benefit a dozen charities, including the Museum of Modern Art. Rockefeller was the youngest son of the American philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. and the art patron Abby Aldrich Rockefeller.

“We think it will be the largest sale ever for charity,” Mr. Porter said in a telephone interview. “It’s hugely diverse” and includes “works of art that have never before been seen in public,” he added.

In addition to important Modern, Impressionist and American artworks, the collection includes categories like silver, furniture and decorative arts. Christie’s will mount several dedicated sales of the material in spring 2018. Mr. Porter said the dates of these sales would be announced in the fall, along with firmer numbers about the value of the collection.

“It should be a historic auction,” said Fraser Seitel, a spokesman for Mr. Rockefeller’s estate.

Among the other organizations that are to benefit from the sale are Harvard University, the Council on Foreign Relations and Stone Barns Restoration Corporation.

Source: The NY Times