The Rockefeller Brothers Fund will open two installations at The Pocantico Center in Tarrytown this spring that celebrate modern art, history, and collaboration.
Woven Wonders: Kykuit’s Picasso Tapestries, an exhibition in the David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center at Pocantico, spotlights eight large-scale textile renderings of Picasso paintings from Nelson Rockefeller’s collection. The exhibit runs through March 2027.
An outdoor Sculpture Walk features pieces on loan from The Museum of Modern Art, co-founded by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. Both open May 29 and are free to the public with advance registration.
Woven Wonders explores the origins and artistry of an extraordinary 20-year collaboration among artists, curators, and collectors. Commissioned by Nelson Rockefeller between 1955 and 1975, the tapestries in the exhibition were handwoven by Jacqueline de la Baume Dürrbach with the permission, input, and signed approval of Pablo Picasso.
Their monumental scale and vivid color offer an accessible and immersive entry point for audiences ranging from weavers and fiber art enthusiasts to seasoned modern art experts to those encountering Picasso’s work for the first time.
“Woven Wonders invites visitors to reconsider the tapestry not as a reproduction, but as a work of art in its own right,” said curator Katrina London. “These pieces illuminate a dynamic process of translation and transformation—how Picasso’s imagery was reinterpreted through Dürrbach’s hands, and how collaboration, material, and scale shape meaning across disciplines.”
Fifteen of these tapestries found a permanent home at Kykuit, the Rockefeller estate at Pocantico. Woven Wonders offers visitors the opportunity to experience this remarkable collection and the story behind it while Kykuit is closed for public visitation in 2026 for site and program upgrades. One of the planned upgrades, a public parking lot at The Pocantico Center’s entrance, has been completed and will improve access to the David Rockefeller Center.
Opening concurrently, the new Sculpture Walk features metalworks by Anton Prinner, Mark di Suvero , Marino Marini, Henry Moore, Herbert Ferber, and Ursula von Rydingsvard interwoven throughout a landscaped pathway starting from the new parking lot.
These works, on long-term loan from MoMA, complement a permanent collection of over 70 modern sculptures acquired, curated, and installed on the grounds by Nelson Rockefeller in the 1960s and ’70s. The Sculpture Walk pays tribute to the longstanding relationship between the Rockefeller family and MoMA, inviting reflection on art, environment, and public access.
“Decades of cross-pollination between the Rockefeller family and MoMA are on vivid display across The Pocantico Center grounds,” said Stephen Heintz, president and CEO of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. “We are deeply grateful to curator Ann Temkin and MoMA for this collaboration, which allows us to bring extraordinary works to the public, and for the ongoing exchange of ideas between our institutions.”
Pocantico’s executive director Meredith Horsford, said the two installations “bring our mission to life. They reflect the Rockefeller family’s long-held commitment to making art accessible to broad audiences and introduce new ways of seeing and understanding the creative process.”
A first look and opening reception for Woven Wonders will be held May 29 from 4:30–6:30 p.m. Gallery hours, starting May 30, are Fridays, 11 a.m.–3 p.m., and Saturdays, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. On the first Saturday of each month at 2 p.m., free guided tours of the exhibition are available. Admission is free; advance registration is required for all visitors.
The outdoor Sculpture Walk is accessible with registration for Woven Wonders and select Pocantico programs offered throughout the year, including performances, tours, and community events. Tickets and registration for all Pocantico Center programs are available online. Summer season programming will be announced on May 14.
