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Abby Aldrich Rockefeller

Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum

“... a nation without humor is

not only sad but dangerous”

– Abby Aldrich Rockefeller

ighty-nine years among them was Edith Gregor Halpert
ago, Abby Aldrich who became Rockefeller’s single greatest Figure 2: Abby Aldrich Rockefeller by Robert
ERockefeller (1874- source of folk material (fig. 3). Brackman, New York, New York City,
1948) placed her collec- The two women became acquainted 1941, oil on canvas, 48 1/2 x 42 1/2 inches,
tion of American folk art after Rockefeller discovered Halpert’s Colonial Williamsburg, Gift of the
on loan to Colonial gallery, noted as the first commercial Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund
Williamsburg, a transfor- art space in Greenwich Village. At through the generosity of John D. Rockefeller
mational act that led to first, the Downtown Gallery solely 3rd, his wife Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller,
the formation of a world- represented living artists, but within a and their four children, 2019-82. Abby
class museum named in few years, Halpert’s offerings extended Rockefeller’s support of contemporary artists
her honor. Today, the to American folk art. By no coinci- extended to the commission of this portrait.
Figure 1: The Art Museums of Colonial Abby Aldrich Rockefeller dence, her husband Sam Halpert was a member of the Ogunquit
Williamsburg front entrance. Folk Art Museum (AAR- Colony in Maine, a school of modernist painters and sculptors.
Colonial Williamsburg recently completed a FAM) is the oldest insti- A few early art installations introduced American folk painting and
65,000 square foot expansion providing additional tution in this country sculpture to viewers, but arguably the most influential exhibition was
exhibition spaces and a dedicated entrance pavilion. devoted exclusively to the The Art of the Common Man in America: 1750-1900. Organized by
study and appreciation of Newark Museum curator Holger Cahill in 1932, it was comprised of
American folk material. AARFAM contains eleven galleries with American folk art anonymously loaned by Rockefeller, introducing for
innovative rotating exhibitions on folk painting, drawing, sculpture, the first time an important private collection on a national level. After
metalwork, pottery, painted furniture, textiles, and toys. As part of the an opening at the Museum of Modern Art, over 170 objects traveled to
Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg, the collection resides cities around the
alongside the exceptional DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Collection. country, providing
The two museum holdings comprise more than 70,000 examples of broad exposure to
American and British material bringing together a rich assemblage of the general public.
folk, fine, decorative, and mechanical arts under one roof (fig. 1). During this
The nucleus of the AARFAM was formed by Abby Rockefeller time, Rockefeller
(fig. 2), a pioneer collector in the fields of American folk and modern visited Virginia and
art. Rockefeller began collecting in the 1920s, undoubtedly influenced toured the Ludwell-
by an upbringing that fostered art appreciation. The daughter of Paradise House, a
Senator Nelson Aldrich and Abby Chapman Aldrich of Providence, building her hus-
Rhode Island, Rockefeller was reared in an environment that supported band helped to Figure 4: Interior of the Ludwell-Paradise House,
education and learning. Her father’s extensive library and painting acquire for the Williamsburg, ca. 1937, showcasing Abby Rockefeller’s
collections were ripe for the young girl’s inquisitive restoration efforts at folk art collection. Rockefeller’s collection of American folk
art remained on view in this location until a
mind and were complemented by family trips to art Williamsburg. purpose-built museum was constructed in 1957.
museums and galleries in Washington D.C., Recently restored, it
England, and Europe. was agreed that the handsome brick dwelling provided the perfect
In 1901, she married John D. Rockefeller Jr., location along the town’s historic Duke of Gloucester Street to
son of the founder of Standard Oil Company. showcase a more comprehensive selection of Rockefeller’s holdings.
The Rockefellers supported numerous public and Beyond their aesthetic appeal, her folk art could help to educate visitors
social causes, with a special interest in historical about the lives of earlier Americans, complementing her interpretation
and educational endeavors, notably the restoration of the colonial era. On March 31, 1935, an exhibition of Rockefeller’s
of the eighteenth-century colonial capital at collection officially opened at Williamsburg, becoming the country’s
Williamsburg, Virginia. first structure devoted exclusively to the public display of American folk
Abby Rockefeller’s interest in American folk art art (fig. 4).
was the direct result of her appreciation for Four years later, Rockefeller’s generous loan became a permanent
contemporary art. She took pleasure in discovering gift ensuring the future of the collection. Today, we celebrate her vision
and acquiring the work of unrecognized talent and and foresight in collecting first-rate examples of American folk art. Not
Figure 3: Baby in Red was a founder and active supporter of the Museum only did she establish a recognition and interest in folk material, but she
Chair, possibly of Modern Art, often patronizing many of the also introduced a body of paintings and artifacts that reflected a broader
Pennsylvania, 1810-1830,
oil on canvas, 24 1/4 x artists who exhibited there. Early twentieth-century picture of the American past. Since Rockefeller’s donation, the
17 1/2 inches, Colonial painters and sculptors were, in fact, the first to collection has expanded exponentially but is nevertheless representative
Williamsburg, from the recognize the aesthetic value of American folk art, of the forms, motivations, and expressions that initially inspired her to
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller seeing a relationship between it and their own collect. True to this day and in Abby Rockefeller’s own words, art “is
Collection, gift of David creative efforts. By the 1920s, excitement over the one of the great resources of life. . . it enriches the spiritual life and
Rockefeller. This now iconic connections between the two artistic forms began makes one more sane and sympathetic, more observant, and
image of a sleeping baby to stir a group of important dealers, collectors, understanding, as well as being good for one’s nerves.”

was one of the first folk art and scholars who would help to shape public By Laura Pass Barry, Juli Grainger Curator of Paintings, Drawing,
objects purchased by opinion and Rockefeller’s personal taste. Chief
Rockefeller from Halpert. and Sculpture, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

See the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum (AARFAM) at
February 2024 21
www.colonialwilliamsburg.org for information about exhibits, events, and
community activities or visit us at 301 South Nassau Street, Williamsburg, VA