Page 182 - Bonhams Passkon and Philanthropy MET Mjuseum March 2024 Asia Week

Fig. 1.John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller
Source: https://www.christies.com/features/Abby-Aldrich-
Rockefeller-profile-8960-1.aspx

John Davidson Rockefeller, Jr. (1874-1960)

John Davidson Rockefeller, Jr. (1874-1960) was the sole surviving those national parks and in others across the country. Another
heir of John Davidson Rockefeller, Sr. (1839-1937), the billionaire and area of special concern was the construction and restoration of
philanthropist who co-founded Standard Oil. He attended Brown significant architectural sites and museums, including his financing
University (class of 1897) and then joined his family firm as Director, and development of Rockefeller Center in Manhattan; restoration of
and later became Director of U.S. Steel after it was formed in 1901. the Rheims Cathedral, Fontainebleau, and Versailles , all in France,
He resigned from both companies in 1910. He continued to hold following the World War I; construction of the Palestine Archaeological
sizable shares in Colorado Fuel & Iron, Equitable Trust Company, and Museum in East Jerusalem, now known as the Rockefeller
other organizations, and he founded the Dunbar National Bank in Archaeological Museum; restoration of Williamsburg, Brooklyn;
Harlem, NY in the late 1920s. Most of his time, however, was spent and donation of his property on East 54th Street of Manhattan for
on philanthropy and collecting. Land conservation was a core value the Museum of Modern Art, which his wife, Abigail (‘Abby’) Aldrich
held by Mr. Rockefeller, and in that spirit, he donated land for national Rockefeller (1874-1948), co-founded in 1929. The Rockefellers also
parks in the United States, including Grand Teton, Mesa Verde National founded the Museum of Primitive Art, the collection of which is now
Park, Acadia, Great Smoky Mountains, Yosemite, and Shenandoah. part of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 1906, Rockefeller was
He funded requisite engineering and preservation initiatives to support introduced to Chinese ceramics through the Altman Collection. His

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