FEATURES ARCHIVE

My husband and I were captivated by the beauty of Indian and Southeast Asian art, and by the vision it embodies of a life in which the human and divine are unselfconsciously intermingled. We looked for objects to delight our eyes and souls, rather than objects that embodied particular ritual practices or exemplified specific religious texts. – Marilynn Alsdorf, A Collecting Odyssey

The kind of passionate collecting and boundless dedication that distinguishes Marilynn Alsdorf and her late husband James is reserved for a rare breed of collectors – those scions of our time for whom collecting is not a hobby, but a way of life.

James and Marilynn married in 1952, and thus embarked on a journey of collecting that would last a lifetime. Motivated by a profound fascination with art history and an inherent “love of the object,” the depth of their interest was matched only by the diversity of areas in which they collected. From the art of antiquity and the Middle Ages to Pre-Columbian, African, Impressionist and Modern art, the couple masterfully juxtaposed these works in their Chicago area home to create an engaging cross-cultural and cross-generational dialogue. Longstanding patrons of the Art Institute of Chicago, where James served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees from 1975-78 and where Marilynn continues to serve on various committees, they generously in part donated and loaned their world-renowned collection of Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian art to the Art Institute. Renzo Piano was commissioned for the beautiful re-design of the gallery space which was opened in December 2008.

Driven by passion and curiosity of mind, the Alsdorfs traveled extensively and always collected as a team. They developed a particular love for sculpture originating from Indic religions, observing that the cultural and spiritual context in South and Southeast Asia remains very much alive, adding a vital dimension to the beliefs, traditions and a sense of unfailing truth to these sculptures of antiquity that is not otherwise present in other cultures. Marilynn has a particular fondness for Ganesha, the great remover of obstacles, and the collection includes images large and small, in stone and bronze. When they first visited India in 1968, they were deeply moved by the spiritual experience emanating from these sculptures of deities imbued with vitality and power, but also learned to appreciate the sculptures for themselves, outside of this context. Their first trip included a meeting with then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, which had been arranged by the French minister of Cultural Affairs, André Malraux, close friend of the Gandharan and Khmer art dealer Robert Rousset. They had met Rousset in Paris in 1955 and acquired their first piece from him. Other encounters included the famed Asian art dealer C.T. Loo, as well as Pierre Matisse who introduced them to Alberto Giacometti, reflecting other interests of their collecting. Among the European museums they would repeatedly visit without fail were the Musee Guimet, as well as the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, as to constantly educate and refresh their eyes. Sources in New York included Frank Caro, successor to C.T. Loo, Mathias Komor and J.J. Klejman, as well as the late Alice Boney, who maintained a base in Japan. Collecting was a true odyssey taking them to every dealer they heard about and to every country whose art they were interested in. It culminated in a seminal exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago aptly entitled by Pratapaditya Pal, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection.

This auction presents more than 120 museum-quality works. They are organized thematically and in ways of visual and contextual correlation so as to open new dialogues, spanning all aspects of the collection from India to Indonesia and all the steps along the way. Many iconic pieces that were on long term loan to the Art Institute of Chicago and illustrated in Dr. Pal’s monograph of the collection, A Collecting Odyssey, are included in this catalogue, not least the emblematic pieces featured on both covers. It is a remarkable fortune that they are once again available to embark on an exciting new odyssey that is sure to prove most rewarding for the new collector drawn into their world. It represents a once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire a work of art with illustrious collector and museum history. This chance should not be missed. Works of art are touched and blessed by the people around them, they speak eloquently and elegantly of their cultural heritage and their presence is forever revitalizing. One day in the future they will be able to relate great stories anew, of the times of their creation, their time with the Alsdorfs, with the Art Institute, and the exciting new chapter that unfolded here and now at this auction.

– Hugo Weihe, International Director of Asian Art