Robert Mnuchin, renowned for his transformative journey from investment banking to becoming a pivotal figure in the New York art scene, passed away at the age of 92 on Friday in Bridgewater, Connecticut. His passing was confirmed by Michael McGinnis, a partner at Mnuchin Gallery based in Manhattan.
Mnuchin carved a unique niche in the art world, showcasing iconic artists like Willem de Kooning, Andy Warhol, Mark Rothko, and Franz Kline. He served as an influential advisor to prominent collectors, including billionaires Steve A. Cohen and Mitchell Rales. In a landmark achievement, Mnuchin secured Jeff Koons’s sculpture “Rabbit” (1986) for Cohen at Christie’s auction for a record-setting $91 million, marking the highest price ever paid for a living artist’s work. This event drew even more attention due to the fact that Mnuchin’s son, Steven Mnuchin, held the position of United States Treasury Secretary at the time.
“I love to be around art,” Mnuchin expressed in a 2013 New York Times profile interview with Robin Pogrebin. “I really believe I have the heart of a collector.” His private collection boasted pieces by de Kooning, Rothko, and Pollock, testament to his passion and refined taste.
Born in 1933 in Manhattan and raised in Scarsdale, New York, Mnuchin was part of a Jewish family with a modest penchant for collecting Modern art. He graduated from Yale in 1955 and went on to serve in the U.S. Army. Beginning in 1957, he built a thriving 33-year career at Goldman Sachs, retiring in 1990 to pursue his love for art—a decision considered unconventional at the time. “He was known in the trade as a passionate collector,” said David Nash, an art dealer. “He had a very specific interest in American Abstract Expressionism and very good taste. He was really quite driven when he turned to being an art dealer.”
Mnuchin launched his first gallery, C&M Arts, in partnership with Los Angeles dealer James Corcoran in 1992, specializing in Abstract Expressionism. In 2005, he collaborated with Dominique Lévy, rebranding the gallery to L&M Arts. The partnership lasted until 2013 when Lévy ventured independently, and Mnuchin continued under the banner of Mnuchin Gallery.
Among Mnuchin’s early patrons was Rales, who was beginning his collecting journey. Mnuchin helped Rales acquire significant works by de Kooning, Rothko, and Twombly, often at record prices. These masterpieces now grace Rales’s Glenstone museum in Potomac, Maryland.
In his later years, Mnuchin broadened the gallery’s scope to include more female artists and artists of color, featuring exhibitions for Lynne Drexler, Sam Gilliam, and Ed Clark. “He was singular in so many ways,” art advisor Amy Cappellazzo remarked. “Passionate, a gentleman, a great dealmaker, a true believer in art above all else.”
Mnuchin remained actively engaged with his gallery until his passing, frequently visiting and securing loans for ongoing exhibitions, such as the current survey of Julian Schnabel’s plate paintings, which spans from 1978 to the present and runs through January 31. “He’s been involved all the way through,” McGinnis noted. “He enjoyed every minute of it.”
Mnuchin is survived by his wife, Adriana, his two sons, a daughter, and two stepchildren.
