The New York Historical Society began courting real estate mogul Elie Hirschfeld, president of Hirschfeld Properties, eight years ago for his multi-million dollar art collection.
That day Louise Mirrer, president of NYHS, met Hirschfeld in his Manhattan apartment. Works from the collection, including ones by Andy Warhol, Georgia O’Keeffe and Mark Rothko, decked the walls and at some points the floor, Mirrer said.
After multiple visits in which Mirrer went to Hirschfeld’s Hamptons home, and Hirschfeld and his family to the society — the collection is now going to the NYHS.
For some with ultra-valuable collections of work, the auction circuit is the go-to place for their art. Sotheby’s will auction off the collection of the late Ambassador and financier Felix Rohatyn and his wife, the auction house said Thursday.
But those who want to guarantee their works can be in public view, and don’t care to monetize, look to museums. NYHS stood out to Hirschfeld because whereas museums like The Whitney or The Metropolitan Museum of Art might break up the collection, NYHS would display it in full, he said.
Hirschfeld’s collection includes twelve works each worth more than $1 million, he said. That’s even though Hirschfeld, who owns a real estate portfolio worth $2 billion, does not buy art to trade, he said. In fact, Hirschfeld said he has never sold a piece.
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