Miami museum displays famed art collection before it’s auctioned off

There’s a piece of paper taped on the door of one of Miami’s — and the world’s — most important private art collections: “de la Cruz collection will be closed in remembrance … Rosa Rionda de la Cruz.”

Inside the now closed Design District museum, select pieces from the famed collector’s showstopping art collection are on display for one last time this week before it heads to auction.

Christie’s, the fine art auction house, is hosting an appointment-only exhibition of pieces from Rosa de la Cruz’s contemporary collection from Tuesday to Friday. The public will be able to view paintings, photos and sculptures from artists including Hernan Bas, Glenn Ligon, Christopher Wool, Peter Doig, Rashid Johnson, Jim Hodges, Rufino Tamayo, Félix González-Torres and Ana Mendieta in the museum’s space before Christie’s begins to sell the works in mid-May.

“It’s become a part of our community this collection,” said Jessica Katz, the director of Christie’s Miami. “Overall, people feel tenderly toward the collection and feel that it’s a part of our identity.”

Rosa de la Cruz, a well-respected Miami arts patron and founder of the de la Cruz collection, and her husband of over 60 years Carlos, were ranked among the top art collectors in the world. Last week, about a month after Rosa died at age 81, Christie’s announced that it will sell the high profile collection over several sales for an estimated total of $30 million, as first reported by Artnet News.

The couple was lauded for supporting artists and funding student trips to study art in New York City and Europe. Carlos decided to sell the collection and permanently close the free museum after 15 years when his wife died.

His reasoning was two-fold. He did not want to burden his five children, 17 grandchildren and six great grandchildren with maintaining the building and paying taxes for the collection. And, perhaps more importantly, Rosa was the driving force behind the collection. He hopes whoever buys the art will show it.

“The collection was her baby,” Carlos told the Herald. “She did a wonderful job of presenting it to the community. I’m very proud of what she did. […] But it was hers. And it’s different now.”

Rosa herself knew this day would come. In 2009, she told the New York Times, “Every collector needs to realize you can’t take it with you. The works will either go to an institution, which might not be able to show them; to your kids, who might not want them; or to an auction house.”

About 100 works out of the couple’s estimated 1,000-piece collection will be available to purchase in the first round of auctions, Katz said. Almost everything on the first floor — besides a sculpture so large it almost touches the ceiling and a Wade Guyton piece that takes up an entire wall — is for sale. Prices to be determined.

The “centerpiece” of the collection are several works by the late Ana Mendieta, a pioneering, feminist Cuban-American artist who tackled gender, identity, nature, the female body and domestic violence, said Isabella Lauria, head of Christie’s 21st century art evening sales. Evening sales are auctions where a small number of big ticket art items are sold, as opposed to day sales, which have more but generally less costly items available.

Mendieta, who came to the United States under Operation Peter Pan, was a rising star when she died suddenly at age 36 after falling from her New York City apartment window in 1985. Friends and family suspected her husband and fellow artist Carl Andre, who was charged with her murder but later acquitted.

“Those issues are that much more salient today than they were in the ‘70s and ‘80s when she was working,” Lauria said. “Rosa had that foresight into collecting artists that deal with identity, politics, gender and feminism. Having those come to market now is that much more impactful. She had the foresight to see this as an incredibly important body of work.”

A full set of Mendieta’s “Siluetas” is the first thing visitors see when security guards open the museum doors. The famed series of photographs show imprints of Mendieta’s body in nature, her silhouette outlined by flowers in dirt, stamped into the earth or emblazoned in fire. Also for sale is an incredibly rare (and delicate) sculpture Mendieta made of sand to resemble the female form. Similar sculptures by Mendieta have sold privately for over $1 million, Lauria said.

The first and only time Mendieta was featured in an evening sale was almost 10 years ago at Christie’s, Lauria said.

“We’ll see like one [Silueta print] come up or a set of three, but to have a full set of 12 come up is incredibly rare. Sculpture wise, they are really, really rare, and no sculpture has ever come up,” Lauria said. “That really is a super seminal sculpture, and it’s a very special moment to see one come up at auction.”

The exhibition doesn’t just show off high profile works for sale, it showcases Rosa’s “fearless” approach to art collecting, Katz said. She embraced huge installations, political themes and unconventional materials. And when Rosa found an artist she liked, she championed their work.

Among those artists was Félix González-Torres, a Cuban-born visual artist who became good friends with the de la Cruzes as they collected his work in depth. He lived in New York City, but died in Miami in 1996 from AIDS-related complications.

González-Torres was known for his use of everyday objects in his work in meaningful ways, like the dramatically long string of lights that pools onto the museum floor.

Also on the floor are a pile of white candies and two unassuming stacks of white paper, one that reads “Somewhere better than this place.” and “Nowhere better than this place.” When the museum was open, guests were invited to take from the pile and stacks. The works, soon to be auctioned off, are meant to be ephemeral.

A glass vitrine holds letters, postcards and photographs of pets that González-Torres sent Carlos and Rosa. A handwritten note on a vintage Havana postcard reads, “I found this in Maryland on my six day drive down to Miami.” Above a photo of a little bulldog is a note that reads, “Troublemaker. You will meet him during the summer.”

These mementos, of course, are not for sale.

Christie’s Rosa De La Cruz Exhibition

Where: de la Cruz Collection, 23 NE 41st Street, Miami
When: April 9 to 12
Info: Open to the public by appointment only. Email miami@christies.com to make an appointment.

This story was produced with financial support from The Pérez Family Foundation, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.