Page "Abby Aldrich Rockefeller" Paragraph 16

She became a prominent patron of modern art and artists in America, using the example of their European predecessors, such as Picasso and Matisse.

Most notable was her avid interest in becoming the driving force in the establishment and ongoing operations of the Museum of Modern Art, in New York, on November 7, 1929, nine days after the Wall Street Crash.

In this project she could not rely on financing from her husband, who was repelled by much of modern abstract painting, nor did she have great wealth of her own to draw on as she received only an allowance from him.

Financing for the museum and acquisition of paintings came from her solicitation of corporations and prominent New York individuals.