David Rockefeller

“The conventional notions of art have changed, and a lot of things done today are considered works of art that would have been rejected in the past.”

“The role of a museum of modern art is to make a good selection and identify what we believe to be the coming movements, and that requires taste.”

“Mother liked beauty wherever she found it, and she found it in many different places, both in nature and in contemporary art. And that's where they pretty much parted company. Father... anything that was abstract would to him automatically be not very good.”

“The Japanese banks are not having an easy time as they once had.”

“They decided to establish a museum of modern art where works by contemporary artists would be shown. Mother was viewed as a very progressive person, and not everybody liked the paintings she bought.”

“I owe much to mother. She had an expert's understanding, but also approached art emotionally.”

“A museum has to renew its collection to be alive, but that does not mean we give on important old works.”

“MoMA is doubling its space, and I decided to raise the money for it.”

“For more than 40 years, I have advocated the creation of a 'round the clock' community. This would mean, at the least, housing, schools and shops of various kinds alongside the commercial buildings. That kind of community had appeared in lower Manhattan in nascent form before Sept. 11, 2001.”

“Only once in my life was I on the edge of incivility. I do not like to be unkind.”

“When you have a lot of resources, the most important thing is to have had good parents and to have been brought up by people who gave one the proper values.”

“I realize how fortunate I have been; mine has been a wonderful life.”

“The Christian ethic played an essential part in my upbringing.”

“I am a passionate traveler, and from the time I was a child, travel formed me as much as my formal education.”

“I am never angry, although sometimes distressed.”

“Eventually, most people felt MoMA had filled a very important gap.”

“Father was the eldest son and the heir apparent, and he set the standard for being a Rockefeller very high, so every achievement was taken for granted and perfection was the norm.”

“I never kept a diary, but I wrote detailed notes of my travels.”

“I think of art as the highest level of creativity. To me, it is one of the greatest sources of enjoyment.”

“It is true that I am often startled and even angered and repulsed by the strange directions and provocative content of new forms that seem to pop up every few months.”