Abby Aldrich Rockefeller
A quiet art lover with a steel will, she used her social position to found the Museum of Modern Art, changing America's cultural landscape.
1874–1948 (age 74)·American socialite and philanthropist·Birthday: October 26·The Gilded Age
Biography
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller could have been merely a society wife, the well-connected partner of John D. Rockefeller Jr. Instead, she became a revolutionary force in American culture. With a genuine, discerning passion for modern art at a time when it was widely ridiculed, she turned her collecting zeal into a public mission. In 1929, she joined with two friends, Lillie P. Bliss and Mary Quinn Sullivan, to establish the Museum of Modern Art in New York. She was its prime mover, providing not just crucial funding but also her own growing collection and relentless advocacy. Operating from a position of immense private influence, she championed living artists, fought for the museum's independence, and helped forge the idea that contemporary art deserved a central, respected place in civic life.
The Gilded Age
1860–1882
Born during or after the Civil War, they built industrial America — the railroads, the steel mills, the first skyscrapers. An era of massive wealth, massive inequality, and the belief that the future belonged to whoever could build it fastest.
Abby was born in 1874, placing them squarely in The Gilded Age. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Abby Was Born
The biggest hits of 1874
Abby's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1874Born
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1879Started school
President: Rutherford B. Hayes
1887Became a teenager
President: Grover Cleveland
1890Could drive
Wounded Knee massacre marks the end of the Indian Wars
President: Benjamin Harrison
1892Could vote
President: Benjamin Harrison
1895Turned 21
First public film screening by the Lumiere brothers
President: Grover Cleveland
1904Turned 30
New York City opens its first subway line
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1914Turned 40
World War I begins
President: Woodrow Wilson
1924Turned 50
First Winter Olympics held in Chamonix, France
President: Calvin Coolidge"It Had to Be You" — Isham Jones
1934Turned 60
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stars Fell on Alabama" — Jack TeagardenBest Picture: It Happened One Night
1944Turned 70
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
1948Died at 74
Israel declares independence; Berlin Blockade begins
Gas: $0.26/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Twelfth Street Rag" — Pee Wee HuntBest Picture: Hamlet
Key Achievements
- Was the principal founder and driving force behind the creation of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1929.
- Built a significant personal collection of modern paintings, prints, and drawings, much of which formed the early core of MoMA's holdings.
- Directed the museum's fledgling print department and helped establish its world-class collection of modern graphic arts.
- Co-founded the American Folk Art Museum, demonstrating her broad commitment to American artistic expression.
Did You Know?
She used her household allowance to buy art, often hiding new purchases behind a sofa when her more conservative husband visited her sitting room.
Her father was Nelson W. Aldrich, a powerful U.S. Senator known as the 'general manager of the United States.'
She was the mother of five sons, including future Vice President Nelson Rockefeller and New York Governor Winthrop Rockefeller.
“I buy art not for fashion, but because it speaks a new and necessary truth.”
