Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd’s Fieldwood Farm estate showcased the couple’s artistic and philanthropic passions

Just a few miles from the Rockefeller Estate at Kykuit and perched atop a hill overlooking New York’s Hudson Valley is Fieldwood Farm, the idyllic rural retreat of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd. There the couple surrounded their family with fine and decorative art inspired by their diverse passions, from international diplomacy to classical music, dance, painting and sculpture. Beginning on 17 November, a choice selection of works collected by the couple, which have been lovingly preserved by their eldest daughter, who inherited Fieldwood Farm, will be offered in Property of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd from the Collection of Sandra Ferry Rockefeller, across Christie’s marquee sales from November 2025 through April 2026.

The collection spans modern and postwar masters, jewels (Art Deco marvels from Cartier to Raymond Yard), Asian art and ceramics, including a rare Tang Dynasty gilt-bronze dragon, American paintings, Chippendale and Shaker furniture and works of decorative art. Highlights include a Kurama granite sculpture by Isamu Noguchi, which stood in Fieldwood Farm’s pastoral garden, and an 18-carat sapphire cabochon ring, originally belonging to John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. ‘The collection is eclectic and diverse, reflective of the broad interests of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd. Their collection reveals the couples' delight in artistic practices from around the globe,’ says Julia Jones, Associate Specialist, American Folk Art, at Christie's New York. A selection that reflects the character of their collection will be offered in The American Collector sale (January 2026).

The Rockefeller commitment to service

True to the Rockefeller spirit, Mr. And Mrs. John D Rockefeller 3rd dedicated their lives to philanthropic work, managing the family’s funds across health, education, conservation, and the arts. The causes they supported dovetailed with the art and objects they chose to live with. Following in the footsteps of her mother-in-law, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, who helped found the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1929, Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd became involved with MoMA in 1949 and later served as president from 1972 to 1985. She championed the European tour of the first major exhibition of Abstract Expressionism and was a prescient early collector of masterworks by Willem de Kooning, Clyfford Still, Sam Francis, and Cy Twombly.

John D. Rockefeller 3rd played a key role in post-World War II peace with Japan, serving as a consultant during peace treaty negotiations and working to foster cultural exchange between the US and Asia. In New York, he helped reactivate the Japan Society in 1952 and, in 1956, founded the Asia Society—an institution dedicated to fostering greater cooperation between Asia and the United States. By the 1960s, he and his wife were active collectors of Asian art, amassing a vast collection of East Asian paintings, ceramics and sculptures — a selection of which will be offered in The American Collector (January 2026) and the Important Chinese Art sale (March 2026).

Sandra Ferry Rockefeller continued her family’s philanthropic mission. A portion of the proceeds from the sale will benefit her foundation, which supports programs that empower youth from diverse backgrounds to connect and inspire one another about their potential impact on society.

A Noguchi of ‘seismic importance’

Myo by Isamu Noguchi, encapsulates many of the couple’s passions, bringing together Japanese traditional art forms and innovations in American postwar art.

‘Myo is of seismic importance to Noguchi’s oeuvre, and ushers in the final and greatest period of the artist’s career,’ says Emory Conetta, Junior Specialist, Post War and Contemporary Art, at Christie’s New York. After spending years in Paris influenced by sculptors such as Constantin Brancusi, Noguchi sought a definitive change from materials such as bronze, which he thought represented ‘the artificiality of the present’. In 1957 he came across a large block of Kurama granite, a sacred stone traditionally used for stepping stones in homes in Kyoto.

Noguchi took nine years to complete Myo, first believing that breaking the stone was ‘an act of blasphemy’. The sculpture marks the first in which Noguchi left the material’s rough quality exposed. In 1968, Myo appeared in Noguchi’s seminal retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art, which cemented his reputation as one of the leading sculptors of the 20th century. After more than two decades in Noguchi’s personal collection, Myo was acquired by Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd’s children, who gave the work to her as a birthday gift in 1980. It presided over the garden at Fieldwood Farm for over 30 years.

Following the Noguchi in the 20th Century Evening Sale, Les Marguerites by Édouard Vuillard will feature in the Impressionist & Modern Art Day Sale.

The Rockefeller Kashmir: An extraordinary 18-carat sapphire

The collection’s offerings extend to Christie’s December Luxury Week, led by the Rockefeller Kashmir, an Art Deco sugarloaf cabochon sapphire ring in Magnificent Jewels on 10 December. The 18-carat dome-topped polished Kashmir sapphire, which has been in the Rockefeller family for three generations, was first gifted to Abby Aldrich Rockefeller by her husband, John D. Rockefeller Jr. Cartier, the revered French Maison at its creative zenith during the Art Deco period, designed the elegant jewel. ‘The vast majority of the storied jewels in the Rockefeller collection start with John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller — clearly favoring Cartier and Raymond Yard,’ says Alexander Eblen, Senior Specialist, Jewellery, at Christie’s New York.

Eblen notes the sapphire’s extraordinary quality. While most cabochon cuts of this size, particularly rare Kashmir sapphires, come with inclusions, or flaws, he explains, ‘This gem cabochon is so superb, you could facet it the other way around, and it would be virtually flawless.’

An American Art collection like no other

‘Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd built one of the most important American art collections of all time,’ says Paige Kestenman, Senior Specialist, American Art, at Christie’s New York. While the couple donated much of their collection, then considered the largest in private hands, to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, they held on to works like Sanford Gifford’s Sunset Over the Palisades on the Hudson (1879), which graced the cover of the exhibition catalogue for Gifford’s 2003 retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and will appear alongside additional gems of the Hudson River School at Christie’s Americana Week in January.

‘Fieldwood Farm has amazing vistas of the Hudson River, so the Hudson River School was really personal for the couple, who displayed these works throughout the house,’ explains Kestenman. Sunset Over the Palisades on the Hudson exemplifies the sublime quality that landscape painters of the 19th century hoped to convey.

The upcoming sale marks another historic chapter for the Rockefellers at Christie’s New York, headquartered at Rockefeller Center since 1997. In 2018, The Collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller achieved $835 million, the proceeds of which were donated to numerous charities the couple supported throughout their lifetime, becoming the most expensive private collection ever sold at auction at the time.

Property of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd from the Collection of Sandra Ferry Rockefeller will be offered in 20th Century Evening Sale (November 2025), Impressionist & Modern Art Day Sale (November 2025), Impressionist & Modern Art Works on Paper Sale (November 2025), Magnificent Jewels (December 2025), 19th Century American & Western Art (January 2026), The American Collector (January 2026), Important Chinese Art (March 2026), Modern American Art (April 2026).