Animal Art Collection of Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge Offered in New York
- January 25, 2012 12:05
A focused collection of artworks, once belonging to philanthropist and art patron Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge, has come up for sale to benefit an animal shelter.
The late Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge was known as the favorite niece of oil tycoon John Rockefeller, but she is perhaps even better known for her great love and compassion towards animals. She was particularly fond of dogs and horses and frequently showed both.
Dodge’s residence in New Jersey, known as Giralda Farms, was at once a fine example of Gothic Revival architecture, and a refuge for hurt and lost animals, referred to as Saint Hubert’s at Giralda.
Founded by Dodge in 1939, Saint Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center has been involved in an ongoing capital campaign to expand its current facility for almost a decade, and the art sale is part of the final push in the campaign.
The sale will take place at the William Secord Gallery in New York from February 11 to March 24, 2012. Offered in the exhibition are nearly 150 works of art, including nineteenth-century paintings, animalier bronzes, about 30 important sterling silver dog show trophies and over forty watercolor portraits of dogs by the British artist, R. Ward Binks (1880-1950).
Highlights include paintings by Rosa Bonheur (French, 1822-1899), known for her images of farm animals; eminent canine painter Maud Earl; the British artist George Earl (1856-1883) and the American artists Gustav Muss-Arnolt (1858-1927) and Percival Rosseau (1859-1937.)
There are 45 nineteenth-century bronzes by French animalier artists, including a life size casting of a pointer and a pheasant by Jules Moigniez (1835-1894), possibly his finest work, as well as a Big Horn Sheep bronze by artist C.M. Russell, known for his works of the American West.
Heather Cammisa, President of Saint Hubert’s, said it had been a difficult decision to put a major portion of the Dodge Collection up for sale, but necessary to fulfill Dodge’s legacy. Cammissa estimates the art works will bring in over $500,000.
(Report: Christine Bolli for ARTFIXdaily)
