Modern Art on the Farm, Runnymede and Unique Art Collection
Runnymede Farm and Unique Modern Art Collection, California, Bay Area.
In the City of Woodside, California, atop gold hills - amongst oak groves — more than 100 acres of land create the magical Runnmede Farm. At first sight, the lot appears to be an open space, but, after entrance, one finds more than 140 modern sculptures. Runnymede owners and art collectors, John and Dodie Rosekrans, are committed to collecting modern sculptures. Privacy is essential to the owners, so the collection is usually open to the public only once or twice per year (typically for benefit events and occasionally for a public tour). John, who developed the collection with his wife, was part of the Spreckels family and heir to their fortune. He was the great-grandson of sugar company founder Claus Spreckels. John’s Grandmother, Mrs. Alma de Bretteville Spreckeles (1881-1968) was a wealthy socialite from San Francisco, known as a ‘Big Alma’ or ‘The Great Grandmother of San Francisco’. Amongst other philanthropy, she is known for having provided donations to San Francisco’s California Palace of the Legion of Honor.
Mr. John Newton Rosekrans owned many large companies by 1994, including Hula Hoops, Frisbee’s, and other water sport toys. By his retirement, he sold his companies and spent the rest of his life collecting artwork. He passed in Paris in 2001. Mr. Rosekrans is survived by his wife, step and grand children, and two sons, John Rosekrans of Mill Valley and Peter Rosekrans of Woodside, who take care of the Woodside farm and collection. With over 100 pieces, the collection’s focus widely varies. The Rosekrans were passionate about artists from the late 80’s and 90’s, particularly American and international sculptors including Mark di Suvero, Robert Arneson, Charles Ginnever, Ilan Averbuch, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Andy Goldsworthy. They only acquired pieces from living artists, who were mostly American. Their first purchase in 1969, from Sol Lewitt. He started his minimalist work in early 1960 with the skeletal forms and radically simplified open cubes, which would serve as a basic building block for three-dimensional work.
A collection curator since 1989, Mary Maggini, describes the collection as “eclectic and intuitive”. She emphasizes that her clients don’t buy art for the investment reasons, rather focus on artists and art work they enjoy. She also says that her clients’ property and farm nature is a main decision-making factor, as sculpture should service the landscape, not the other way around. “Good art can hold itself against an oak tree,” Maggini says. “This is the barometer I use for judging the works.” The size and style of acquired artwork has a wide range. Many gigantic structures are placed in open spaces, dominating the landscape. Smaller pieces are placed along many walking paths, at the edge of groves and clusters of oaks. Metal, wood, steel and stone dominate in the collection. The dramatic and iconic Horse Head, created by IIan Averbuch (Israel), sits on the entrance to the residence, at the edge of the oak cluster, and welcomes visitors. Another wonderful geometrical sculpture ‘Ibis’ is by Charles Ginnever. J.R. Leibowitz states: “An artist reviewing … his structures would immediately recognize that it works in every direction, in any pose, artistic weight is balanced.”
At the front of the property, next to the milking barn, Celeste Roberge’s few sculptures with stone and metal wire are capturing the visitors. “Walking Carin” and “Raising Carin” are two standing and kneeling female figures made of steel and stone. Maggini says that “the figures seem to possess a certain dignity, and they also inspire immediate and visceral reactions.” The wire body of the sculpture is filled with about 4,000 pounds of stone granite. The upright standing sculpture is about nine feet and bent over almost five feet tall. Most of the trails on the farm are dirt, the visitor is passing yellow hills, trees, randomly noticing new sculptures, none of the pieces are labeled and their location and positioning are organic, connected to some panoramic view or is suddenly appearing in some secret places between shrubs or trees. The main path starts at the Dairy Barn. From there, many other smaller paths climb to the north or middle part of the property or lead you to reach the highest point overlooking hills below.
Artists sometimes come to the farm to create their work. For example, Andy Goldsworthy came to Runnymede to create commissioned pieces. He created an abstract clay form next to the top of the farm. It took him over two months and the piece is installed there with the expectation that it will change with time, experiment with the aging as a response to the sun, rain, and changing weather. Andy Goldsworty is known for site-specific collections created from clay, each of which ‘grows, decays, stays’. On this farm, he created a collection of pots, reminiscent of the open beehive. He created them from the clay processed on-site over a period of months with the help of young, local artists. Many cars drive along the highway I-280 on the Peninsula, but not too many people know about this unique big collection located on the private property in Woodside, California.
