Rachel “Bunny” Mellon and her husband Paul Mellon who died in 1999.
The collection of Rachel Lambert Mellon, one of the most important single owner collections ever to come to market, will come up at Sotheby’s across a series of sales throughout the autumn. Spanning everything from fine art to jewellery and decoration the 2,000 or so items to be sold are expected to realise over $100 million. The collection is drawn from the Mellon’s residences in the US and abroad. Proceeds will benefit the Gerard B. Lambert Foundation, a charity supporting horticultural and educational endeavours established by Mrs. Mellon in memory of her father.
Mrs. Mellon, who died this year aged 103, was born in 1910 in Princeton. Her father made his fortune marketing Listerine, a product invented by his father. In 1948 she married Paul Mellon, the only son of financier Andrew Mellon, uniting two of America’s most affluent families. Her passions were fashion, horses, art, interior design and gardens. She redesigned the White House Rose Garden at the request of her close friend Jacqueline Kennedy in 1961. The Mellons built an extraordinary art collection, generously supporting the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. and establishing the Yale Centre for British Art.
UPDATE: In New York on November 10 Sotheby’s sale of masterworks from the collection totals $158.7 million. Two paintings by Mark Rothko together achieved $75.5 million.