Empire State Plaza
The Empire
State Plaza forms the central focus and setting
for one of the most spectacular state capital centers
in the country. The Plaza is the seat of government
operations for New York State - it occupies 98 acres
of land, with 11,000 employees in 10 buildings. The
Plaza exists because of the vision and determination
of one man, Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller, who wanted
to create "the most electrifying capital in the
world." To fulfill his purpose, Rockefeller commissioned
Wallace K. Harrison, a personal friend and chief architect
for Rockefeller Center, to be the principal architect
for the Plaza. Construction began in 1965 and was completed
in 1978."
Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller's love
and appreciation of modern art made him assemble throughout
the plaza one of the most important collections of public
art in the country. Plans for the Empire State Plaza
Art Collection in 1961 and the first purchases were
made in 1966. This collection features the work of artists
who practiced in New York during the 1960s and 70s,
and is the most important State collection of modern
art in the country. In its embrace of abstract art,
the collection positioned the State as a forward-thinking
patron and its government as enlightened and advanced.
The architect Wallace K. Harrison worked closely with
Governor Rockefeller, who cared deeply about architecture,
to create the bold design for the Empire State Plaza
complex. No stronger statement could have been made
about New York's past and present commitment to the
future, and its belief that the arts were essential
to the State's vision of itself.
The formation of the Empire State
Plaza Art Collection has strong connections to the Museum
of Modern Art. Governor Rockefeller (whose mother, Abby
Aldrich Rockefeller, founded the Museum of Modern Art
along with two other remarkable women in 1929) was one
of the young institution's staunchest supporters and
one of its leading trustees and donors. Governor Rockefeller
once quipped that everything he had ever learned about
politics, he learned at the Museum of Modern Art! In
order to help select the works of art for the Empire
State Plaza Art Collection, Governor Rockefeller assembled
a small advisory committee that included Rene d'Harnoncourt,
then director of the Museum of Modern Art. Upon d'Harnoncourt's
untimely death in 1968, Dorothy Miller, one of the Museum's
most respected curators, succeeded him on the committee.
At the Museum, Miller introduced the work in her well-known
Americans shows which highlighted many emerging and
young artists who later became significant figures.
For Albany she was able to champion many abstract artists
at mid-career, and her keen eye undoubtedly helped strengthen
the quality of the collection that the Governor was
assembling.
Since its inception in the late 1960s,
the Empire State Plaza Art Collection has attained a
new importance. In addition to being one of upstate
New York's greatest art treasures, it also serves as
a remarkable example of the power and importance of
abstract expressionist art. Governor Rockefeller's vision
of the arts as a vital component of the State of New
York's identity continues, as New York continues to
be the preeminent state in the union for the arts."
by Glenn D. Lowry, Director, Museum of Modern Art.
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