Heritage to Auction Artworks from the Estate of Edmund Pillsbury

DALLAS, TX — More than 250 works of Contemporary Art from the Estate of the late Dr. Edmund P. Pillsbury anchor Heritage Auctions’ Oct. 26 Modern & Contemporary Art Signature® Auction, taking place at Heritage’s Design District Art Annex, 1518 Slocum Street.

“Ted was a great connoisseur of Modern and Contemporary, which might surprise some people, given his world-renowned expertise in Italian Renaissance Art,” said Frank Hettig, Director, Modern & Contemporary Art. “He had an eye for talent, across eras and millennia, which very few people could claim to match; this collection shows just how good he was.”

The collection includes works from major artists including Robert Motherwell, Bernard Frize, Al Souza, and Carlos Vega as well as emerging contemporary artists such as Fabian Marcaccio and Roe Ethridge.

“It’s an exceptional collection,” said Hettig, “and an equally great auction.”

The catalog will include an introductory essay and catalogue notes by Senior Art Expert, Dr. Marianne Berardi, who worked closely with Dr. Pillsbury at Heritage, as well as amusing and insightful anecdotes from his colleagues throughout the art world.

He was a long time well-respected voice in the world of Fine Art, earning a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University in 1965 and his doctorate in Italian Renaissance art from London’s Courtauld Institute of Art. In 1972, he was named Curator of the Yale University Art Gallery and took over the University’s Yale Center for British Art four years later.

In 1980, the Kimbell Art Museum in Ft. Worth tagged Pillsbury to help build a world class collection and, in short order, he turned it into one of the great museums in the nation, expanding its small collection into one of true distinction. Due to his work with the Kimbell, the Frick Collection in New York in 1989 presented “In Pursuit of Quality: 25 Years of Collecting Old Masters,” an exhibition of 17 paintings from the Kimbell, most of which were acquired by Pillsbury.

In 2003, Pillsbury became director of the Meadows Art Museum at SMU, as well as a professor of art history.  He served as an advisor to the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia, and was the consultative director of the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art at the hotel and casino in Las Vegas.

From 2005 until his death in 2010, Pillsbury was Director of Museum Services and Chairman of the Department of Fine Arts at Heritage Auctions, which is honored to offer this collection on behalf of Dr. Pillsbury’s wife, children and grandchildren.