Rockefeller Family Donates Chinese Oil Painting to Pace University

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PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Mr. and Mrs. Steven Rockefeller Jr., longtime residents of the Hudson Valley, philanthropists, and supporters of the arts, have donated a beautiful oil painting by a celebrated contemporary Chinese artist to Pace University.

The painting, entitled Sunflower by Huang Yue, will be on display in a secure location at Pace’s Mortola Library. It was presented to President Marvin Krislov on Feb. 10, 2022 at The Choate Art Gallery on the Pleasantville campus.

“This fine contemporary Chinese oil painting is a wonderful addition to our collection,” said President Krislov. “We are grateful to Steven and Kimberly Rockefeller, appreciative of their philanthropic leadership throughout the region, and very ​pleased that our students will now have the chance to admire this fine artwork and learn about its significance.”

“Huang Yue’s Sunflower has brought years of joy to our offices and then in our home,” said Steven Rockefeller. “Kimberly and I are delighted that it can now shed its good fortune on those passing through the distinguished halls of Pace.”

Huang Yue is an artist of international renown, in part, because of ways in which he depicts Chinese bird and flower motifs while fusing the ancient Chinese brush form that was developed hundreds of years ago with oil painting techniques, and blends influences from artists of the West.

The artist was born in Beijing in 1960 and graduated from the Beijing Film academy in 1982 with a degree in fine arts. He subsequently had an opportunity to continue his art studies in the United States. A selection of his paintings was exhibited in 2017 at the Grand Palais in Paris, which has a long and storied history of exhibiting artists such as van Gogh, Picasso, and Monet.

“This inspirational painting bridging Asian and Western European art traditions could not come to Pace at a more meaningful time,” said Professor Kim de Beaumont, curator of the Pace University permanent art collection. “The picture's vibrant colors emerging from a somber background suggest a world that is gradually returning to life and hope. Pace students--and the entire Pace community--will have a chance to reflect on the poetic possibilities every time they emerge from the Mortola Library into the natural surroundings of the Pleasantville campus.”

About Pace University

Pace University has a proud history of preparing its diverse student body for a lifetime of professional success as a result of its unique program that combines rigorous academics and real-world experiences. Pace is ranked the #1 private, four-year college in the nation for upward economic mobility by Harvard University’s Opportunity Insights, evidence of the transformative education the University provides. From its beginnings as an accounting school in 1906, Pace has grown to three campuses, enrolling 13,000 students in bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in more than 150 majors and programs, across a range of disciplines: arts, sciences, business, health care, technology, law, education, and more. The university also has one of the most competitive performing arts programs in the country. Pace has a signature, newly renovated campus in New York City, located in the heart of vibrant Lower Manhattan, next to Wall Street and City Hall, and two campuses in Westchester County, New York: a 200-acre picturesque Pleasantville Campus and the Elisabeth Haub School of Law in White Plains. Follow us on Twitter or on the Pace News website