Politics
Who Is the Art World Backing in the Democratic Primaries? Here’s Who Artists, Dealers, and Collectors Donated Money to Support
Which mega-dealers backed Mayor Pete? Which artists are hopping on the Bernie bandwagon? We break it down here.
Which mega-dealers backed Mayor Pete? Which artists are hopping on the Bernie bandwagon? We break it down here.
Sarah Cascone & Caroline Goldstein ShareShare This Article
As Americans head to the polls for the Democratic primaries on Super Tuesday, voters in 14 states will be casting their ballots for a rapidly narrowing field of candidates with the last-minute withdrawals of former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg and Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar.
As we await the results later today, we scoured the nonprofit donations-tracking website Open Secrets for early clues about who the country’s artsiest constituents might be vying for—or at least who they’re giving money to.
The results revealed a few trends: Artists tended to give to progressive candidates like Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren, while collectors and blue-chip dealers preferred moderates like Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg. (Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg does not accept individual donations.) In fact, we only spotted one collector who gave to Sanders. (On the Republican side, the only art world donors to President Donald Trump who turned up in our research were Acquavella Galleries and collector Bruce Toll.)
Here’s our non-exhaustive list of who some of the nation’s leading artists, collectors, and dealers donated to during the presidential primaries.
COLLECTORS
Barbara Bluhm-Kaul $2,800
Beth Rudin DeWoody $2,800
Neil Bluhm $2,800
Eli Broad $2,800
Edythe Broad $2,800
Warren Eisenberg $2,800
Katherine G. Farley $2,800
Jo Carole Lauder $2,800
Marguerite Hoffman $2,800
Jon Landau $1,000
Liz Lefkofsky $2,800
Martin Margulies $2,800
Lisa Perry $2,800
Richard Perry $3,800
Roger Sant $5,600
Jane Toll $2,800
Robert Toll $2,800
Penny Pritzker $8,400
Benjamin De Menil $1,950
ARTISTS
Elizabeth Neel $221
DEALERS
Adam Sheffer $250
ARTISTS
Nina Chanel Abney $360
Carroll Dunham $500
Dawoud Bey $500
DEALERS
Paula Cooper Gallery $500
Brent Sikkema $257
COLLECTORS
Jon Landau $515
ARTISTS
Peter Anton $250
Robert Gober $500
Maya Lin $250
Mary Heilmann $1,000
Annie Leibovitz $2,800
DEALERS
Larry Gagosian $8,400
David Zwirner $8,400
Barbara Gladstone $7,800
Matthew Marks $2,800
Francis Naumann $2,000
Jessica Silverman $2,800
COLLECTORS
Paul Cejas $2,800
Alexandra Cohen $2,800
Kyle DeWoody $2,800
Glenn Dubin $5,600
Katherine G. Farley $2,800
David Geffen $5,600
Leonard Blavatnik $1,600
Anna Wintour $2,800
Marguerite Hoffman $5,600
Pamela Joyner $2,000
Marsha Perelman $2,800
Jeffrey Perelman $2,800
Lisa Perry $2,800
Richard Perry $2,800
Laurene Powell Jobs $2,800
Lisa Pritzker $1,250
Louise Riggio $2,800
Aby Rosen $2,800
Roger Sant $5,600
ARTISTS
Larry Bell $1,250
Molly Crabapple $1,900
Jessica Mitrani $250
Laura Owens $300
Cecily Brown $500
DEALERS
Jim Kempner $1,000
COLLECTORS
Kyle DeWoody $1,000
COLLECTORS
Neil Bluhm $5,600
Katherine G. Farley $2,800
Marguerite Hoffman $4,000
Peter Kraus $2,000
Raymond McGuire $1,000
Marsha Perelman $1,500
Roger Sant $5,600
Jon Shirley $2,800
Robert Toll $2,000
Ari Emanuel $2,800
COLLECTORS
Daniel Och $2,800
Lisa Perry $2,800
Richard Perry $2,800
ARTISTS
Richard Serra $2,500
Cleo Wade $1,500
CURATORS
Anne Pasternak $250
DEALERS
Alexander Gray $250
COLLECTORS
Leon Black $1,000
Eli Broad $2,800
Edythe Broad $2,800
Beth Rudin DeWoody $2,800
Leonardo DiCaprio $2,800
Agnes Gund $2,800
Jimmy Iovine $2,000
Leonard Lauder $2,700
Raymond McGuire $2,800
Laurene Powell Jobs $2,800
Lisa Pritzker $1,000
Aby Rosen $2,800
Roger Sant $2,800
ARTISTS
Wade Guyton $2,800
Robert Longo $1,000
Julie Mehretu $1,000
Cleo Wade $2,800
Catherine Opie $250
CURATORS
Thelma Golden $250
DEALERS
Barbara Gladstone $1,000
COLLECTORS
Eli Broad $2,800
Edythe Broad $2,800
Leonardo DiCaprio $5,600
Pamela Joyner $5,400
Liz Lefkofsky $2,800
Nathalie Marciano $2,700
Donald B. Marron $2,800
Crystal McCrary $2,800
Raymond McGuire $2,800
Lisa Perry $2,800
Richard Perry $2,800
Lisa Pritzker $6,400
Mera Rubell $500
Laurene Powell Jobs $2,700
ARTISTS
Zackary Drucker $500
COLLECTORS
John Arnold $2,700
Carlton DeWoody $2,700
Marguerite Hoffman $5,600
Liz Lefkofsky $2,800
Raymond McGuire $1,500
COLLECTORS
Neil Bluhm $5,600
Marguerite Hoffman $4,700
Chara Schreyer $1,000
COLLECTORS
Suzanne Deal Booth $1,000
Laurene Powell Jobs $2,800
COLLECTORS
Aby Rosen $2,800
ARTISTS
Alex Israel $250
COLLECTORS
Beth Rudin DeWoody $2,500
Kim Richter Shirley $2,800
ARTISTS
Paula Crown $2,800
COLLECTORS
Neil Bluhm $2,800
Eli Broad $5,600
Daniel Brodsky $2,000
Glenn Dubin $2,800
Larry Marx $8,400
Susan Marx $2,800
Marsha Perelman $1,000
Roger Sant $5,600
Jon Shirley $5,600
Kim Richter Shirley $5,600
Penny Pritzker $5,600
ARTISTS
Ross Bleckner $500
COLLECTORS
Glenn Dubin $1,005
Roger Sant $1,000
COLLECTORS
John Arnold $2,800
Laura Arnold $2,800
Eli Broad $2,800
Edythe Broad $2,800
Glenn Dubin $2,800
Jill Kraus $500
Lisa Pritzker $1,000
Roger Sant $500
COLLECTORS
Kyle DeWoody $5,750
COLLECTORS
Laurene Powell Jobs $2,800