Agnes Gund: a legacy of giving continues

Celebrated as a patron, collector and philanthropist, Agnes ‘Aggie’ Gund spent decades demonstrating how culture can enrich society far beyond museum walls. Her contributions reflect a belief that creativity can play a vital role in helping communities flourish and in bringing people together across differences.

To further the legacy Gund built, works from her collection will be offered this November in The Collection of Agnes Gund: Sold to Benefit the Gund Art Foundation, with select highlights offered during the 21st Century Evening Sale and the Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale, along with a series of online sales. Proceeds will fund causes close to Gund’s heart.

'Aggie’s generous contributions to art, education and social justice were hugely impactful in the lives of so many,’ says Sara Friedlander, Christie’s Chairman of Post-War and Contemporary Art. ‘This sale pays tribute to both her exceptional eye as well as her heartfelt kindness, as an unwavering champion of creativity in all its forms.'

A lifetime of patronage and friendship

The offerings in these sales reflect Gund’s nuanced understanding of the landscape of twentieth century art, with pieces from the most important movements over the course of the last 80 years. The collection showcases examples by leading names from each decade from the mid-1940s through to the late 2010s — many of which she acquired directly from the artist themselves.

Beginning in the 1960s, she developed close personal relationships with Ellsworth Kelly, Robert Rauschenberg and Roy Lichtenstein, whose works will be on offer in the Evening Sale alongside sculptures from leading post-war artists like Alexander Calder and Cy Twombly. In later years, Gund devoted herself to collecting and promoting women artists; quintessential examples from Cindy Sherman’s Untitled Film Stills and Vija Celmins’s Ocean series are among the highlights of the collection.

Broadening access to the arts

In 1967, Gund joined MoMA’s Painting and Sculpture Committee, marking the beginning of a long association with the museum. She served as president from 1991 to 2002, notably leading an $858 million expansion that nearly doubled the museum’s size while donating over 1,000 works to the museum and more than 800 works to other public institutions.

While Gund’s impact on cultural institutions was monumental, her true aim was to ensure that access to the arts extended as widely as possible. In 1977, she founded Studio in a School to provide arts instruction for New York City public school children following severe municipal budget cuts. For Gund, culture was always a public resource capable of inspiring curiosity, encouraging empathy and improving lives.

Looking beyond the museum

Beyond the arts, Gund embraced philanthropy as a means of creating opportunity and advancing the public good. In 2017, she famously sold her prized Roy Lichtenstein painting, Masterpiece, to launch the Art for Justice Fund, creating a visionary model of relinquishing major artworks to support urgent social causes.

Agnes Gund remains an enduring example of how individual passion can translate into collective benefit. Her influence is felt in the artists she championed, the institutions she strengthened and the communities she helped support, leaving a legacy defined not only by cultural achievement, but by generosity and a belief in helping others.