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.
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.
Joe Biden
Presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks to supporters during a rally on March 2, 2020 at Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas. Photo by Mark Felix/AFP/Getty Images.
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
Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Warren, 2016. Courtesy Alex Wong/Getty Images.
ARTISTS
Nina Chanel Abney $360
Carroll Dunham $500
Dawoud Bey $500
DEALERS
Paula Cooper Gallery $500
Brent Sikkema $257
COLLECTORS
Jon Landau $515
Pete Buttigieg
Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg announces he is ending his campaign to be the Democratic nominee for president during a speech at the Century Center on March 1, 2020. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images.
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
Bernie Sanders
Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders addresses supporters during a campaign rally in the Central Mall of the Utah State Fair Park, March 2, 2020 in Salt Lake City. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.
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
Amy Klobuchar
Amy Klobuchar. Courtesy of Wikipedia.
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
Tom Steyer
Tom Steyer. Photo by Gage Skidmore, via Wikipedia.
COLLECTORS
Daniel Och $2,800
Lisa Perry $2,800
Richard Perry $2,800
Cory Booker
Cleo Wade and Cory Booker at Refinery29’s 29Rooms in the “Just Dance” room. Courtesy of Joe Schildhorn/BFA.
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
Kamala Harris
US Senator Kamala Harris. Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images.
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
Beto O’Rourke
Democratic presidential candidate and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke speaks to his supporters after announcing he was dropping out of the presidential race before the start of the Iowa Democratic Party Liberty. Photo by Joshua Lott/Getty Images.
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
Kirsten Gillibrand
Senator Kristen Gillibrand speaks to Brooklyn Museum Director Anne Pasternak at the Brooklyn Conference on Thursday, October 19, 2017. Image courtesy of Brooklyn Museum.
COLLECTORS
Neil Bluhm $5,600
Marguerite Hoffman $4,700
Chara Schreyer $1,000
Julián Castro
COLLECTORS
Suzanne Deal Booth $1,000
Laurene Powell Jobs $2,800
Bill De Blasio
Bill de Blasio at the Pioneer Works Village Fete. Photo courtesy of BFA.
COLLECTORS
Aby Rosen $2,800
Jay Inslee
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announces his run for the 2020 Presidency. Photo by Karen Ducey/Getty Images.
ARTISTS
Alex Israel $250
COLLECTORS
Beth Rudin DeWoody $2,500
Kim Richter Shirley $2,800
John Hickenlooper
John Hickenlooper.
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
Steve Bullock
Steve Bullock.
ARTISTS
Ross Bleckner $500
COLLECTORS
Glenn Dubin $1,005
Roger Sant $1,000
Michael Bennet
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
Marianne Williamson
COLLECTORS
Kyle DeWoody $5,750
Andrew Yang
Andrew Wang. Photo: Gage Skidmore, via Wikipedia.
COLLECTORS
Laurene Powell Jobs $2,800
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