Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America

Twigg-Smith, Laila Roster print view role Collector Artist Patron dates 1944-1998 city New York City state NY other cities Honolulu, HI; Dresden, Germany; San Francisco, CA; San Jose, CA; sex F historical notes Instrumental in the formation of the Contemporary Arts Center in Honolulu, Laila Roster Twigg-Smith, nee Bergs, was a contemporary art collector. She and her second husband, Thurston Twigg-Smith (publisher of the Honolulu Advertiser, married 1983, divorced in 1996), formed a collection that include work by, among others, Richard Diebenkorn, Jim Dine, Philip Guston, Roy Lichtenstein and Wayne Thiebaud. As a member of its capital campaign, steering and accessions committees, she was a trustee of New Museum of Contemporary Art in SoHo. Trained as an artist, from 1980 to 1985 she was the Commissioner of Visual Arts for the City and County of Honolulu and throughout the 1970's she wrote art reviews for The Honolulu Star-Bulletin. She received the Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney Award from the Skowhegan School in Maine (1991), and served on the Whitney Museum of American Art’s painting and sculpture committees as well as a member of their national committee. Laila and her first husband, Fred H. Roster (born 1944), had one child, artist Cade Roster, who lives in Honolulu. decades of activity 1970-1980 1980-1990 1990-2000 updated 03/22/2024 12:09:31 bibliographic search Search Frick Art Reference Library Catalog Search Photoarchive Search Worldcat Search Wikidata Entry Archives/Repository Collection Title Collection Details The Museum of Modern Art Library and Archives Artist File: Twigg-Smith, Laila; miscellaneous uncataloged material. see details... see also: Twigg-Smith, Thurston «  back