RUMSEY HALL AUCTIONS MARTIN WONG PAINTING FOR $1.1 Million
Painting Displayed In A Middle School Boys’ Dorm For Decades Wows The Art World
For decades, a highly valuable Martin Wong painting hung silently in the common room of Cutler Cottage, a boys’ dorm at Rumsey Hall School. Day in and day out, middle school students hurried by the large, 48 x 72 inch canvas—unaware that the magnificent evening cityscape would eventually be worth over a million dollars.
On September 28, Wong’s piece Persuit (El Que Gane Pierde - He Who Wins Looses), 1984, was sold by Hindman, an internationally recognized fine art auction house, for $1.1 million, netting the school $900,000. The sale of Persuit marks the largest amount of money ever paid for a Wong painting at auction. Persuit was donated to Rumsey Hall School in 1989 by Allen Finkelson, a parent of three Rumsey Hall graduates and former long-term trustee and board chair.
Martin Wong, Persuit (El Que Gane Pierde - He Who Wins Looses), 1984, Acrylic on Canvas
Ian Craig, head of school at Rumsey Hall, states, "The proceeds of the auction sale will benefit Rumsey Hall School’s whole-child approach to education in adherence to the school’s belief that teaching both academics and attitude of mind are equally important. We are most grateful to Allen, who felt so strongly about Rumsey that he gifted us the piece and allowed us to use it in a way that will impact the student experience."
Finkelson, a long-time supporter of the arts at Rumsey and for whom the campus art gallery is named, donated three works of art to the school. He was thrilled to discover that one of the paintings had become an American treasure, stating, “I was surprised to learn of the painting’s enormous appreciation in value. For me, it’s sale and use of proceeds is the culmination of my lifetime devotion to the school and a clear acknowledgement of all the school has meant to the Finkelson family.”
In August 2020, the school learned that Martin Wong had become a well-known artist and the market for his works had risen drastically in the last few years. Brooke Giese, associate head of school, knew precisely where the painting was exhibited on campus, and, hearing of its potential value, quickly removed it from the heavily-trafficked common area and secured it in a safe place. Giese states, “Imagine all the living moments when a Cutler Cottage student would look up at the painting and notice a star in the constellation, the moonlight reflecting off the fence, or the glow from a window, and for an instant be transported. At Rumsey Hall, students develop an appreciation for the way art conveys emotion, communicates experiences, and tells a story. We are deeply grateful to Allen for sharing this work with the school, for the meaning it brought to the lives of the boys living in Cutler Cottage, and for the profound impact its value will have on the School's future.”
Persuit hangs in the common space of Cutler Cottage where students gather for group photos over the years.
Rumsey Hall boarding students pose for photos in front of Persuit.
Once the value of the Wong painting was firmly established, Rumsey Hall pursued a partnership with Hindman to promote and sell the painting. The painting was carefully packaged and delivered to the Chicago-based auction house in August. Zachary Wirsum, senior specialist at Hindman, wrote to Rumsey Hall when the painting arrived, stating, “Our muggy August became a lot cooler with the arrival of the Wong last Friday. It is stunning and even better than we hoped it would be in person.”
Persuit is displayed in the Dorothy Rachon Administration Building at Rumsey Hall School for several months before being carefully packaged and shipped to Hindman Auction House.
Wong (American, 1946-1999) an openly-gay, 20th century painter of Chinese descent, is known for his stunning pieces that portray ethnic identities and cultural references. His work is often depicted as a mixture of social realism and visionary art. Wong’s pieces are collected worldwide: The Museum of Modern Art has three of his works in its permanent collection and two are in the Whitney Museum in New York City.
Hindman described Wong’s canvases as having “a naïve visionary quality, sensitively balancing fantastic wonder with observed reality, paint handling imbued with an overall haunting sense of longing, that seems to explore what it means to belong to a group.” Hindman characterized Persuit as “a self-consciously ominous New York nocturne, a surprisingly illusionistic wooden frame peppered with poetic phrasing, presumably words borrowed from his often collaborator Piñero, borders a clue that sleight-of-hand could be at play, a view finder, capturing and celebrating this authentically gritty New York minute.”
Persuit was the cornerstone piece of the auction, with Hindman using the image as the cover of
the auction catalogue. The auction opened the Wong piece at $400,000, and with a number of bidders who clearly did not want to back down on this rare find, the auction took a heated turn until the gavel dropped. A U.S. institution triumphed in the end as the new owner of this visionary painting.
“Thanks to the generosity of Allen, we enjoyed this stunning piece on campus for a number of years,” explained Ben Pastor, director of development at Rumsey Hall. “And now, the sale of the painting creates an incredible opportunity to support the growth of students in a meaningful way. We are incredibly grateful.”
Rumsey Hall is a coeducational boarding and day school for students in kindergarten through grade nine. The school was founded in 1900 by Lillias Rumsey Sanford of Seneca Falls, New York and moved to the current Washington campus in 1949.