Hiya, Rodin!

Nelson Rockefeller’s death brought an abrupt halt to the often rancorous controversy surrounding the project which was to occupy him in his retirement from politics, namely the art reproduction business; he was preparing to sell —at elevated prices—copies of selected items from his world-famous collection in fancy boutiques on New York’s 57th Street, in Neiman-Marcus, and by mail order. His statement that he and Happy only wanted “to share with others our joy of living with these beautiful objects and the thrills we nave experienced in collecting them” did not keep people from suspecting that the former Vice

President was trading on his name to make money he rather obviously didn’t need. More importantly, however, news of his enterprise spawned a more general and, in fact, long-needed discussion about the ethics and aesthetics of art reproductions, the manufacture and sale of which have become a growth industry in recent years.

RB

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Ruth Berenson

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Nelson Rockefeller’s death brought an abrupt halt to the often rancorous controversy surrounding the project which was to occupy him in his retirement from politics, namely the art reproduction business; he was preparing to sell —at elevated prices—copies of selected items from his world-famous collection in fancy boutiques on New York’s 57th Street, in Neiman-Marcus, and by mail order. His statement that he and Happy only wanted “to share with others our joy of living with these beautiful objects and the thrills we nave experienced in collecting them” did not keep people from suspecting that the former Vice

President was trading on his name to make money he rather obviously didn’t need. More importantly, however, news of his enterprise spawned a more general and, in fact, long-needed discussion about the ethics and aesthetics of art reproductions, the manufacture and sale of which have become a growth industry in recent years.