Born in Paris, France on 6 November 1911, to the Baron Édouard Alphonse James de Rothschild and Germaine Alice Halphen, Jacqueline de Rothschild Piatigorsky came into a family of incredible wealth, status, and influence. As a child, Jacqueline was raised in her family’s two grand and historic homes: Talleyrand’s mansion in Paris’ city center overlooking the Place de la Concorde and the Jardin des Tuileries, and Château de Ferrières, a country retreat. Château de Ferrières, often considered the largest and most opulent 19th century chateau in France, has received many important guests including Emperor Napoleon III and Wilhem I, Emperor of Germany, who described the chateau as “No Kings could afford this! It could only belong to a Rothschild.” Within the enclaves of her family’s homes, she was surrounded by a world-class art collection with walls of paintings by artists such as Vermeer, Velázquez, Rembrandt, and Holbein. Although raised by strict nannies and private tutors in a sheltered environment, Jacqueline became an accomplished chess player, winning a bronze medal for the United States in the Women’s 1957 Chess Olympiad and being posthumously inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame, champion tennis player, author, sculptor, philanthropist, and patron of the arts.
After a brief first marriage, Jacqueline met the cellist, Gregor Piatigorsky, at a party hosted by her friend. An immediate friendship developed, and Gregor asked Jacqueline for an outing. She suggested a game of golf and Gregor agreed, even though he had never played golf before. Gregor purchased golf shoes for the occasion, which turned out to be too small and he suffered through the entire round. Despite this inauspicious start, the pair had an instant spark between them. During their courtship, Gregor’s cello tours required him to travel to far flung places such as Ceylon, Madagascar, and the Dutch Indies. Not wanting to be separated for longer than necessary, Jacqueline resolved to meet him in Hawaii for the second leg of his tour. The young lady who had led such a protected life and had never even driven herself or gone into a market, was determined to travel half-way around the world to be with Gregor. Boat strikes prevented Jacqueline from getting to Hawaii. However, the two were reunited in San Francisco.
Shortly after, in 1937, they were married in a simple civil ceremony in Ann Arbor, Michigan in between stops on Gregor’s concert tour. As newlyweds, the Piatigorskys settled briefly in Paris. Together they had one daughter and one son, Jephta and Joram. However, with anti-Jewish sentiment and persecution spreading across Europe in the late 1930s and Hitler on the rise, Jacqueline knew they must leave France. Thanks to her prescience, the family boarded a ship bound for the United States just two hours before France declared war on Germany. They arrived in New York on 9 September, 1939, and remained in the United States as naturalized citizens thereafter.
Jacqueline passed away on 15 July, 2012, at the age of 100, in Brentwood, California. The Rothschild name invokes wealth, elegance, integrity, and generosity. The family’s numerous donations, often anonymous, to museums and elsewhere document their distinguished history of collecting the finest art masterpieces, properties, and jewelry. Lots 403 – 450, property from the Rothschild Family including the late Baroness Edouard de Rothschild and the late Jacqueline de Rothschild Piatigorsky, illustrate the exceptional taste and quality of the family’s collections.