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Lot Essay
Born in Cairo in 1928, Dina Hettena Recanati set a new standard for practicing artists and collectors alike. Her steadfast belief in the power of art, and unending curiosity for learning about distinctive art histories and iconographic traditions, set her apart as a connoisseur. She drew inspiration from the artists she collected, and over her lifetime, grew into an established figure on the international art scene, remarkable for her contributions as both patron and artist.
After marrying Raphael Recanati, an Israeli-American businessman with ties to both shipping and banking, Dina Recanati moved her family to London where she began to study art history in earnest. Despite having been educated in French and English schools, she had her first true encounter with western art in London. Still, the family’s time in London was short lived and in 1948, the Recanatis moved across the Atlantic to New York where Recanati quickly immersed herself in the tide of American modernism that was sweeping the city. After learning the histories of European Renaissance, Baroque, and 19th Century Art in London, she found herself faced suddenly with the shock of American abstraction. She collected works by Robert Motherwell, Kenneth Noland, and Louise Nevelson, always with an eye for work that deployed a fresh aesthetic code. Recanati’s taste was for the challenging, and she sought it out at every turn.
We are very grateful to Sarah Chadwick for her assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.
After marrying Raphael Recanati, an Israeli-American businessman with ties to both shipping and banking, Dina Recanati moved her family to London where she began to study art history in earnest. Despite having been educated in French and English schools, she had her first true encounter with western art in London. Still, the family’s time in London was short lived and in 1948, the Recanatis moved across the Atlantic to New York where Recanati quickly immersed herself in the tide of American modernism that was sweeping the city. After learning the histories of European Renaissance, Baroque, and 19th Century Art in London, she found herself faced suddenly with the shock of American abstraction. She collected works by Robert Motherwell, Kenneth Noland, and Louise Nevelson, always with an eye for work that deployed a fresh aesthetic code. Recanati’s taste was for the challenging, and she sought it out at every turn.
We are very grateful to Sarah Chadwick for her assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.