America's Medicis

by Loebl, Suzanne

• ISBN13: 9780061237225
• ISBN10: 0061237221
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-11-16
• Publisher: Harpercollins

Summary

The first book to explore the immense cultural contributions of one of America's wealthiest and most influential families: the RockefellersAbby Aldrich Rockefeller sparked her family's passion for art, but it was her husband, John D. Rockefeller Jr., who once was hailed as the "greatest friend and patron of the arts since Florence's Lorenzo de Medici." Together and separately they, as well as their descendents, became a major force on the American art scene. The dozen Rockefeller-sponsored museums, including MoMA and the Cloisters, are among the world's finest. Their architectural projects-Rockefeller Center, the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg, Lincoln Center-are equally stellar. The family also enriched existing institutions with entire collections of modern, Asian, "primitive," and folk art, in addition to ancient artifacts.Based on a wealth of information culled from the family's extensive archives, America's Medicis traces the Rockefellers' artistic philanthropies from their beginnings to the present. As author Suzanne Loebl makes clear, the Rockefellers did more than simply provide money and artworks; they also devoted themselves to the causes they believed in-a commitment that helped define and direct America's artistic tastes. In spite of all these material gifts, the Rockefellers' most lasting contribution was to teach America that art does not belong to a rarefied elite, but can be enjoyed and understood by all. Erudite and engaging, America's Medicis is a remarkable account of the twentieth-century American art world and the extraordinary family at its center.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. xi
Preamble: An Imperial Nest	p. 1
To the Glory of God	p. 15
A Passion for Asia	p. 36
Bridging the Past and the Present: The Oriental Institute, the Cairo Museum, the Metropolitan Museum's Assyrian Sculptures, and the Rockefeller Archaeological Museum, Jerusalem	p. 61
Rockefeller Center	p. 87
Mother's Museum: MoMA, 1929-39	p. 125
The Cloisters	p. 165
Colonial Williamsburg and the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Museum of American Folk Art	p. 187
MoMA Under Nelson A. Rockefeller's Stewardship, 1939-69	p. 205
A Modest Man Assumes His Birthright: The Asia Society and Lincoln Center	p. 233
The Rockefeller Collection at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco	p. 258
The Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Mall	p. 271
David Rockefeller: The Museum of Modern Art and the JPMorgan-Chase Corporate Art Collection	p. 287
In Memoriam: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, and the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center in San Antonio, Texas	p. 307
Smaller Gifts	p. 328
Kykuit: On a Clear Day You Can See Forever	p. 347
Acknowledgments	p. 363
Bibliography	p. 367
Abbreviations	p. 373
Notes	p. 375
Index	p. 401
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