Image Courtesy :: St. Louis Art Museum

ST. LOUIS, Nov. 4 – The Saint Louis Art Museum on Monday accepted the transformative gift of 225 works of art from the collection of the late C.C. Johnson Spink and Edith “Edie” Spink.

Chinese, Dish with Design of Gardenia Sprays, Early 18th Century - Bequest of Edith J. and C.C. Johnson Spink

The bequest includes superb works by American artists – including John Singleton Copley, Rembrandt Peale, Norman Rockwell and Andrew and Jamie Wyeth – but the gift is most notable for more than 200 works of Asian art that range from Chinese ceramics of the Neolithic period to works from Meiji-era Japan. The works of art were formally accepted Monday afternoon at a meeting of the museum’s collection committee.

The Spinks’ Asian art collection was developed with the intent of filling major gaps in the Art Museum’s collection and with a specific goal of allowing the museum to present a complete history of Chinese ceramics from prehistoric times to the end of the imperial system.

This extraordinary gift is the result of three decades of strategic collecting by Johnson and Edie, who were guided by a shared desire to expand and elevate the Museum’s collection,” said Brent R. Benjamin, director of the Saint Louis Art Museum. “I am grateful for their generosity, and all of us at the museum are excited to include their legacy as an essential part of our visitors’ experience.”

Many of the most significant pieces in the collection have appreciated greatly in value in recent years, to the extent that it would have been impossible for the Museum to purchase them on the open market. A conservative estimate of the value of the Spink Asian Art Collection is $50 million. Certain pieces, in particular the most unusual and rare of the bronzes and porcelains, could command prices well over $5 million each.

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