In over fifty years of helping to both build and sell collections, I’ve experienced only a small percentage of interiors that were assembled with an artist’s eye, where every element was carefully considered and chosen as part of a unified whole. Even rarer is a collector or designer who possesses the depth of knowledge and a nuanced understanding across various disciplines with the industry insider access to match. In walking through the home of Jane Korman, I soon realized she was one of those people. From fine art and prints (there is a Warhol portrait of her, now in the family collection; the Pop icon was part of her circle), to sophisticated glass, ceramics, and furniture, Jane Korman was consistent in taste and selection. Her impeccable design sensibility extended to the grounds outside her home, which hosted a large Richard Serra sculpture, a monumental Kaneko Dango, and an oversized garden bell by Toshiko Takaezu, who was a personal friend.
This curated sale is but a brief glimpse of Ms. Korman’s eye. As a gallerist specializing in fine and decorative art she was at least as influential in building collections as she was in supporting important artists for decades. I hope you enjoy exploring the exceptional offerings presented here as much as we did in working with the Korman family to assemble them.
—David Rago
Take a walk through center city Philadelphia, you’ll find evidence of Jane Korman’s vision all around you: on Arch Street, the innovative textile studios and galleries at the Fabric Workshop and Museum will be abuzz with creativity, with thought-provoking exhibitions on view. On Walnut Street, you’ll pass the Jane & Leonard Korman Respiratory Institute at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital—an initiative inspired by her own experience as a lung cancer patient who never took the ability to breathe for granted. Each November at the nearby Pennsylvania Convention Center, the Philadelphia Museum of Art Contemporary Craft Show welcomes thousands of eager shoppers whose purchases support both the livelihoods of the artists displaying their work, and the Museum’s ability to acquire important works of contemporary craft. Korman was a longtime supporter and member of the Board of Directors of this annual event through the Women’s Committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where she also served on the Modern and Contemporary Art Committee. And if you venture a bit further afield to the northwest corner of the city, you’ll reach the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania, where Korman was a Trustee and chair of the Fine Arts Committee. There, she spearheaded the creation of a permanent installation for children called Out on a Limb: A Tree Adventure Exhibit, complete with a nest of giant robin’s eggs and a Squirrel Scramble. It was designed as a fully accessible place for children and adults to explore and revel in nature, and to help them see that “we need trees, and trees need us.”
Auction / Lambertville
9 November 2023
11 am eastern
Preview / Lambertville
2 – 9 November 2023
11 am – 4 pm daily
For more information:
609 397 9374
info@ragoarts.com
