William Randolph Hearst's world-class collection of arms and armor included this exceptionally well-preserved suit of armor, circa 1600–1610, from Milan, Italy. This traditional heavy cavalry armor is notable for its dense gold and silver ornamentation, suggesting it was intended for show rather than for combat. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
:The much-maligned William Randolph Hearst (1863–1951) was one of the most ambitious and flamboyant art collectors of all time, assembling a high quality trove of visual and decorative objects and exhibiting them in a series of extraordinary houses, notably the celebrated Hearst Castle in San Simeon, Calif. As a result of the negative caricature of the newspaper tycoon's life in Orson Welles's film
Citizen Kane
, and the fact that half his holdings were sold off during the Great Depression, Hearst's achievements as a collector have been underappreciated.
He was, in fact, not only a voracious, but an accomplished and discriminating collector — and an important force in the art world of his day. It was estimated by
The New York Times
that Hearst alone accounted for one-quarter of the world's art market in the 1920s and 1930s. But when he nearly went bankrupt in 1938, his collection was divided. Half was retained by Hearst and half became his companies' property, much of it to be sold.
A goodly number of dispersed items came into the permanent collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), of which he was the museum's greatest individual donor. It is today one of the nation's top art museums.
Some 150 of the most significant objects from Hearst's collection have been brought together by LACMA in one of the most intriguing exhibitions of the year. "Hearst the Collector," on view through February 1, documents the strength of his holdings in medieval decorative arts, tapestries, silver, arms and armor, and European paintings and sculpture.
Hearst's passion for California and the American frontier, exemplified by his trove of 300 Native American textiles, set him apart from traditional East Coast collectors. Also displayed are drawings of Hearst Castle by Julia Morgan, Hearst's preferred architect.
The exhibition was organized by LACMA's curator of European painting and sculpture, Mary L. Levkoff. In addition to LACMA, works in the show have been loaned by other institutions and private collectors.
Frenchman Pierre Mangot's casket, 1532–33, "is one of the most important works of art that belonged to Hearst,” according to curator Mary L. Levkoff. The sumptuous mother-of-pearl box framed in vermeil and topped by four emeralds once belonged to King Francis I. Musee du Louvre, Paris.
Museum officials suggest that the perspicacity, determination and good taste required to amass this high-quality collection belie the dark reinvention of Hearst promulgated in
Citizen Kane.
As LACMA director Michael Govan says, "This groundbreaking exhibition addresses many distorted perceptions about the man who was the most fascinating collector in American history."
The museum contends that Hearst was a generous benefactor of the arts and "a populist millionaire who crusaded against political corruption." They note that he promoted "simultaneous excellence and sensationalism in reporting," and that he "transformed the graphic design of newspapers."
Be that as it may, this stunning show demonstrates in particular Hearst's good eye for arms and armor, silverware and tapestries. "In each of these areas," LACMA declares, "he surpassed virtually all his contemporaries, amassing the greatest quality of top-tier works."
