The Miller Collection at Christie's Christie’s is delighted to announce the consignment from the Collection of
J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller to its 2008 season of sales at Christie’s in London and New York.
community, on the citizens of Columbus – was expansive, far-reaching, complex and bold. Predominant in their lives
was a profound commitment to their community, a family tradition and an almost spiritual philosophy about the
importance of enriching the lives of their fellow citizens. We are deeply honored to be offering their Collection for sale.”
Jussi Pylkkänen, President of Christie's Europe, says: “It is a great honor for Christie's to be asked to handle
the Collection of J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller. The collection represents one of the most significant groups of
Impressionist and Modern masterpieces ever offered for sale in Europe and these fine works will serve as the foundation
of what promises to be a spectacular exhibition and sale here in London in June. The outstanding work is
unquestionably Monet's superb Le bassin aux nymphéas of 1919. A Nymphéas of this quality is of the utmost rarity
and represents the most important work from Monet's Waterlilies' series ever sold on the European market. In recent
years, Christie's auctions in Europe have realised some landmark prices as new clients from Asia, the Middle East
and Russia compete with the traditional collectors from Europe and the Americas and we are looking very forward to building on recent successes in London and offering this extraordinary collection in June.”
J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller
As philanthropists, they helped to transform their ordinary small
Midwestern town of Columbus, Indiana, into a unique city
where art and architecture have elevated the quality of life for all
its citizens. In their private lives, they also built a mid-century
modern home for their family that is recognized today as a
National Historic Landmark and filled it with furnishings,
paintings, drawings and sculptures by late 19th and 20th century
masters.
Although Irwin Miller is known internationally as a businessman, social activist and philanthropist, the story of the Millers and
Columbus, Indiana is legendary in architectural circles. In 1976,
The New York Times architecture critic, Paul Goldberger,
wrote, “Columbus, Ind., and J. Irwin Miller are almost holy
words in architectural circles. There is no other place in which a single philanthropist has placed so
much faith in architecture as a means to civic improvement.”
Through his company’s philanthropic arm, the Cummins Engine Foundation, Irwin Miller created
the Architecture Program in 1952, under which the foundation offered to pay the architects’ fees for
a public building if the local governing body would select an architect from a list provided by the
Foundation. These efforts inspired others to raise their sights as well.
Today, there are more than 60 structures of note in Columbus designed by architects such as Eliel
and Eero Saarinen, I. M. Pei, Kevin Roche, and Richard Meier. Half of them received a subsidy
from the Cummins Foundation. The significance of the modern architecture in Columbus led the
community as a whole and four specific buildings within it (including the Millers’ home) to be
designated National Historic Landmarks in 2000.
Xenia Miller also believed that the
