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Anne and Arthur Goldstein Reflect On the Responsibility of the Collector

Their recent major donation to the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University has the potential to shape not only the institution's collection but also the education and perspectives of future generations of students.

One of the most generous and forward-looking options available to collectors planning for the future of their collections is donating works to an institution, yet major museums are not always able—or willing—to accept such gifts. University and college museums, meanwhile, offer an accessible alternative that lets collectors have a tangible impact on the education and perspectives of future generations of students.

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After years of collecting, Anne and Arthur Goldstein recently decided to donate 70 artworks to the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University in New Jersey, bringing the total number of works they have given the institution to 160. Announced in July, the major gift comprises works by leading contemporary names such as Tauba Auerbach, Darren Bader, Mark Bradford and Nicole Eisenman, as well as emerging artists including Ever Baldwin, Troy Lamarr Chew II and Lamar Peterson. Many of the works will be featured in “Mashup: New Acquisitions from the Zimmerli,” opening in February 2027.

Following the announcement, Observer spoke with the couple to learn more about the collecting journey that led to this major gift. The Goldsteins describe themselves as “self-taught collectors,” and when they started, they quipped, they didn’t even know who Edward Hopper was, and that was genuinely the case. At a gallery, they came across a stunning, simple watercolor depicting the landscape near their cottage on Cape Cod. “We recognized the scene immediately and wanted to buy it. I asked who the artist was and was met with a gallerist’s dirty look. As they whispered an unholy amount, I looked at Anne and said, ‘We’ve got homework to do.'”

Their first acquisition was a painting by Philip Pearlstein that still hangs in their living room. “It’s one of his iconic studio interiors. When we first saw it, we were overwhelmed by its power. We continue to be,” they said. After buying a few more paintings, they decided to focus initially on photography,........

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