HOWLAND, Ohio – After Steven C. Rockefeller Jr. decided to share his family’s story through an exhibition of art and heirlooms, the next step was to select the most impactful pieces from his massive collection.
That proved to be the most challenging – and rewarding – part of the project.
Rockefeller Jr. is the great-great-grandson of John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937), an American business titan and the world’s first billionaire who founded Standard Oil in Cleveland in 1870.
The world premiere of the exhibition, “From Oil to Art: A Rockefeller Legacy Rooted in Industry, Innovation and Imagination,” opens today at the Medici Museum of Art and will run through Jan. 11.
Rockefeller co-curated the exhibition with Katelyn Amendolara-Russo, executive director of the Medici.
He and Amendolara-Russo got the ball rolling months ago through FaceTime chats, in which the Medici director familiarized herself with the scope and particulars of Rockefeller’s holdings.
But her initial plans went out the window when it came time to make the final selections. Rockefeller arrived with so many invaluable pieces that Amendolara-Russo had to start over.
“I overdid it,” Rockefeller admitted. “I brought a lot here, and that gave the curator the opportunity to select. It seemed overwhelming, but she enjoyed having those options and she selected artfully the ones that communicate the right message.”
Amendolara-Russo said the opportunity to sift through the trove of more than 2,500 objects – including journals, pictures and art – paid off in the final outcome.
“He brought a truck with five men unloading all kinds of treasures,” she said. “It surprised me and challenged me as I unboxed it, and it totally changed the design of the exhibition for the better. I was really grateful. It was stressful but worth it.”
The three-part exhibition features the first public showing of a number of historical artifacts of John D. Rockefeller and his business empire.
It also includes artworks from family members’ collections, including that of Nelson A. Rockefeller (1908-1979), who was the 41st vice president; and works, including photography and calligraphy, by Steven C. Rockefeller Jr. and his mother, Anne-Marie Rasmussen Rockefeller.
Upon entering, visitors are greeted by actual hewn timbers salvaged from John D. Rockefeller’s original family home.
A full wall is devoted to a timeline that details the life of Rockefeller and his corporation’s growth.
Paintings commissioned by Rockefeller Jr. that depict scenes of Cleveland in the late 1870s when his great-great-grandfather lived there are also part of the exhibition.
Rockefeller Jr. was pleased with how the exhibition turned out.
“I love the look,” he said. “It’s very contemporary and clean and well-lit. There are open spaces with divisions. [Viewers] get the opportunity to focus on the different elements, and there’s a flow between the various themes.”
Asked which item holds the most meaning to him, Rockefeller Jr. did not hesitate in pointing to a paper from early in his great-great-grandfather’s career.
“In 1864, he signed a receipt when he was age 24 or 25, and it’s a precious item, in my mind,” Rockefeller Jr. said. “He was a wholesale produce merchant’s clerk when he signed it. He traveled throughout Ohio and Indiana farmlands to obtain that produce, store it, transport it, insure it, and share the commission with the farmers. It was a special time of his business development, and it represents that time very well.”
After Amendolara-Russo suggested an exhibition at the Medici, Rockefeller Jr. quickly embraced the idea.
“I had hoped to share the history with the people of Ohio, where Mr. Rockefeller made his home for more than 60 years,” Rockefeller Jr. said. “I knew of the importance of that history, how transformative and fundamental it was. As my collection, and my appreciation for the collection, expanded, I had the impulse to share the story with the people of your state.”
John D. Rockefeller Jr. moved to Cleveland with his family when he was 14. He got his first job in the city as an assistant bookkeeper when he was 16, and began entering business partnerships in the Cleveland area at age 20, concentrating on oil refining.
Amendolara-Russo said it is an honor to have the opportunity to tell the story of John D. Rockefeller Jr. for the first time.
The exhibition is expected to garner attention and attract visitors from throughout the world, and she has already received inquiries from international media outlets.
The Medici Museum of Art, 9350 E. Market St., is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday. Admission is free.
Rockefeller Jr. is the CEO of Rose Rock Group, a private investment firm. Before that, he was managing director of Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management.
At a private reception Thursday evening, Rockefeller Jr. announced that he is donating two pieces to the Medici Museum. They are “Heron by the Stream,” a 2023 mixed media piece by Cao Jun, and a massive calligraphy piece by Fo Tao, the Chinese master.
After the exhibition closes in January, Amendolara-Russo and Rockefeller Jr. plan to bring it to other museums, including one in New York and one in China.
While Rockefeller Jr. has delivered a landmark exhibition to the Mahoning Valley, he also found a surprise waiting for him here.
A custom-made 1941 limousine that John D. Rockefeller had built for his youngest daughter, Alta Rockefeller Prentice, was brought to the Medici on Thursday by its owner, Dave Johnson of Salem.
“It’s spectacular,” said a pleased Rockefeller Jr. as he climbed into the massive and luxurious vehicle.
Johnson is the CEO of Summitville Tile, owner of the Spread Eagle Tavern and Inn in Hanoverton and chairman of the Columbiana County Republican Party.
“It is extraordinarily rare,” Johnson said. “They only made one, and it was the last car ever built by Rollson Inc.,” a custom-car builder that was based in Plainview, N.Y.
Johnson is a collector of pre-World War II vehicles and obtained the Rockefeller car in 2013.
The vehicle was built on a Packard Motor Car Co. chassis that was manufactured in Detroit by the company that was founded in Warren.
The car has 28,000 original miles on it and is in outstanding condition. “It runs like a new car,” Johnson said. “I would not hesitate to drive it anywhere.”
Pictured at top: Steven C. Rockefeller Jr. discusses the exhibition in front of two of the paintings in his collection.
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