Auction of Rockefeller Art Is to Benefit Charities

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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.

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