John Kaldor

John William Kaldor AO (b. 1936 in Budapest[1]) is an Australian art collector, philanthropist, and the founder of Kaldor Public Art Projects.

This article is about the art collector. For other uses, see John Kaldor (disambiguation).

John Kaldor

AO
Kaldor in July 2016
Born1936 (age 84–85)
Budapest, Hungary
EducationSaint Ignatius' College, Riverview
Alma materTextile College of Zurich
Known forKaldor Public Art Projects; philanthropy
StyleTextile designer and manufacturer
Spouse(s)Naomi Milgrom AO[1]

Biography

Kaldor was born in Budapest to textile manufacturers Andrew and Vera Kaldor. After a short time in Paris as a refugee, Kaldor moved to Australia in 1949 with his parents and younger brother Andrew. Kaldor was educated at Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview,[1] studied in the United Kingdom, and attended the Textile College of Zurich under the direction of Johannes Itten. After working for Universal Textiles, in 1970 he founded his own textile manufacturing company, John Kaldor Fabricmaker, in Australia, which expanded to the United States and the United Kingdom. In 2002, the company ceased operation in Australia and the US, but continued in the UK.[2]

Kaldor has undertaken thirty two contemporary art projects, working with international artists including Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Gilbert and George, Sol LeWitt, Richard Long, Jeff Koons, Charlotte Moorman with Nam June Paik, and Marina Abramović. In 1990, Kaldor brought Christo to Australia for a twenty-year retrospective at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Kaldor has been chair of the Museum of Contemporary Art Board, and a trustee of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and has participated on the boards of the Tate Modern, MoMA PS1, and the Biennale of Sydney. He currently serves on the International Council of the Museum of Modern Art.

In 2008, Kaldor gifted his collection of more than 260 works to the Art Gallery of New South Wales, including works by Robert Rauschenberg, Richard Long, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Sol LeWitt, Jeff Koons, Ugo Rondinone, and Bill Viola.[1] At the time, the collection was valued at A$35 million, and it is the most significant donation made to the Gallery.[3]

Kaldor was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 1993 for service to the arts,[4] and in 2016 was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to contemporary visual art, as a supporter of public art projects, to the development of education programs for children, and through philanthropic contributions to cultural institutions.[5]

He is married to Naomi Milgrom,[1] the Chair and Group CEO of the Sussan Corporation.

References
  1. Safe, Georgina (22 February 2013). "Kaldor unwrapped". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  2. "John Kaldor AM". Australia: National Portrait Gallery. 2005. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  3. "John Kaldor, Danny Goldberg and the Shermans: when private collectors go public". The Sydney Morning Herald. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  4. "Search Australian Honours: KALDOR, John William: Member of the Order of Australia". It's an Honour. Australian Government. 13 June 1993. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  5. "Search Australian Honours: KALDOR, John William: Officer of the Order of Australia". It's an Honour. Australian Government. 13 June 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
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