For Florence and Herbert Irving, the opportunity to live in dialogue with their extraordinary collection of Asian sculpture, ceramics, painting, and decorative art was an incomparable experience—an opportunity forged through unstinting personal scholarship and friendship with the world’s foremost scholars. Across more than a half century, the couple assembled one of the world’s foremost private collections of Asian art. Yet as Mr. Irving so astutely observed, it was the couple’s dedication to people—from the experts who helped shape their collection to the countless New Yorkers who benefitted from their largesse—that defines the generous vision that is the Irving legacy.
Herbert Irving was the co-founder of the Sysco Corporation, the world’s largest distributor of food products. The success of the Sysco Corporation allowed the Irvings to adopt a spirited ethos of living, one founded upon the principles of helping others and embracing fine art. The couple came to amass the United States’ foremost private collection of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Southeast Asian works, making the Irving name synonymous with Asian art. As their collection matured, so did the Irvings’ conviction that it should be enjoyed by the public. The couple became two of the most significant patrons in the history of the Metropolitan Museum of Art: years of bequests, unwavering financial support, and personal leadership culminated, in 2017, with a transformative gift of $80 million to the museum—its largest donation in recent history. “The Irvings have been inspirational donors in building the Museum’s collections and galleries of Asian Art since 1987,” said Met President and CEO Daniel Weiss. “We are profoundly grateful to the Irvings for their tremendous generosity and vision.”
In addition to their unparalleled Asian art collection, Florence and Herbert Irving collected jewelry – pieces that told stories of their travels and life together. Lots 40-52 present a chic and elegant assemblage of jewels from the renowned houses of Bulgari, Harry Winston and Van Cleef & Arpels. With large boldly colored statement pieces to diamond and platinum-set jewels, the variety of style and eye for quality echoes the ever eclectic life that the couple shared.
In their betterment of the New York community, Florence and Herbert Irving came to stand proudly in the annals of American philanthropy. Together, they pursued a massive philanthropic undertaking totaling over $1 billion in support to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Columbia University Medical Center, and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, among other causes. The Irvings enabled Columbia, in particular, to evolve into one of the world’s foremost medical institutions. By the time of Mr. Irving’s passing in 2016, he was the largest donor in the history of New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center—a designation that, beyond its extraordinary benevolence, signified a deep and abiding belief in helping others. The following year, Florence Irving announced that her husband had left an additional gift of more than $700 million to the institution in his will, a donation that will reverberate across generations of patients and researchers. 
In their giving, Florence and Herbert Irving sought to elevate men and women from all backgrounds, and to share with others the Asian art that had so enriched their lives. This generous vision will forever define the Irving legacy.