Pre-Lot Text
Property from the Collection of Evelyn D. Haas
Evelyn D. Haas devoted her life to her family, philanthropy, public service and to bringing the arts to the people of San Francisco, as well as the world at large. Through their family foundation and personal endeavors, Evelyn and her husband Walter were involved in countless charitable activities including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), the restoration of San Francisco's Crissy Field, the San Francisco Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund and the San Francisco Symphony. For many years, Walter was CEO and Chairman of the Board of Levi Strauss & Co., and from 1980 to 1995, Walter and Evelyn owned the Oakland Athletics.
The charitable work of Evelyn D. Haas spans many fields, but she is best known for her lifelong dedication to the arts. Her passion was sparked when attending Wheaton College in Massachusetts in the 1930s and was further encouraged by her mother-in-law, Elise Stern Haas, who was an art enthusiast, renowned collector and a member of the SFMOMA Board of Trustees from 1953-1990. Elise was known for her extraordinary donations over the years including the bequest upon her death in 1990 of thirty-seven paintings, sculptures, and works on paper by modernist masters, among them Henri Matisse's Femme au chapeau, which she acquired from her dear friend Sarah Stein in the 1950s. This painting is currently one of the most important works in the critically acclaimed exhibition The Steins Collect, which is now on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, following previous tour stops at the SFMOMA and the Réunion des Musées Nationaux-Grand Palais in Paris. The relationship of the Haas family to this ground-breaking exhibition is a testament to the important role that the family has played in the understanding of Modern Art in America.
Elise helped Evelyn get involved at SFMOMA from a relatively young age, and they worked together at the museum for many years. In addition to her charitable commitments to the museum, Evelyn actively volunteered during the 1950s and 1960s until joining the Board of Trustees in 1972 (where she served until her death in February 2010). Over the years she held many roles on the board including Executive Vice President, President and Chairman Emeritus.
Evelyn was deeply committed to promoting California artists and purchased mainly from galleries in San Francisco including the John Berggruen Gallery, from whom she and Walter acquired one of their most important works, Richard Diebenkorn's Berkeley #59, which we are honored to offer for sale in our 8 May 2011 Post-War & Contemporary Art Evening sale. "I fell in love with the painting [Diebenkorn's Berkeley #59] right away. If this house ever catches fire, this painting is what I'd grab" (Evelyn Haas, January 1995).
The love and time that Evelyn put into selecting her favorite works resulted in a collection that is highly personal and filled with many wonderful examples of modern and contemporary art, which will serve to educate and enlighten the next generation of collectors.
Property from the Collection of Evelyn D. Haas