Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America

Martin, Alastair Bradley print view role Collector dates 1917-2010 city Katonah state NY other cities Glen Head, NY; New York, NY; sex M historical notes Alastair Bradley Martin was an investor and collector who began his activity shortly after World War II. According to the New York Times (March 3, 2000), when naming their collection, he and his wife Edith Park Martin used the Welsh word gwennol (meaning martin, the bird) in memory of their honeymoon in Wales. The Martins collected sculpture, painting, textiles, and folk art. The works in the collection range from an Olmec jade figure, circa 800-500 B.C. to a Willem de Kooning painting; a Joseph Cornell sculpture; a 19th-century Noah’s ark toy; a terra cotta head from Nigeria; and a painted scroll from 12th-century Japan. Alastair Bradley and Edith Park Martin began collecting in the late 1940s. Their passion for objects transcended any collecting category or period, featuring outstanding examples of ancient art of many cultures, American Folk Art, African and Asian Art. Works of art were not selected for investment or because of trends in the market; their taste was highly personal and eclectic. Of their collecting, Mr. Martin once wrote, “The fundamental rule is this: If something gives you pleasure, buy it.” Their enthusiasm for collecting was matched only by their generosity. Beginning in 1948, Mr. Martin became a trustee of the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and for a term, served as the Board’s President. It was a long association that included the donation of important objects and the loan of dozens of significant works, including The Guennol Lioness. Various treasures from their collection have also been lent for special exhibitions at other institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fogg Art Museum, and Jewish Museum. The Guennol Collection has also been the subject of separate, single collection exhibitions at both the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1969) and the Brooklyn Museum of Art (2000). decades of activity 1940-1950 1950-1960 1960-1970 1870-1880 1880-1890 updated 10/31/2024 13:33:17 bibliographic search Search Frick Art Reference Library Catalog Search Photoarchive Search Worldcat Search Library of Congress Name Authority File (LCNAF) Search Wikidata Entry Archives/Repository Collection Title Collection Details The Brooklyn Museum Libraries and Archives 200 Eastern Parkway Asides on the alchemy of art collecting and informal notes on the Guennol collection see details... The Metropolitan Museum of Art Please see individual record for location Guennol : reflections on collecting, 2003 June. Alistair B. Martin. see details... The Brooklyn Museum Libraries and Archives 200 Eastern Parkway Brooklyn Museum. Dept. of Asian Art. Records, 1925-2003 (inclusive). see details... The Brooklyn Museum Libraries and Archives 200 Eastern Parkway Guide to the Records of the Department of Asian Art 1925 - 2003 see details... The Brooklyn Museum Libraries and Archives 200 Eastern Parkway Guennol : reflections on collecting, 2003 June / Alastair B. Martin. see details... The Frick Collection and Frick Art Research Library 10 East 71st Street Rosenberg & Stiebel Archive - Subject Files see details... see also: Martin, Edith Park «  back