The Collector: Barbara Jakobson

The Collector08.15.2025

“I see collecting as a form of autobiography, as evidence of the fact that I lived for most of the last century and then into the new century”

With this sentiment in mind, Barbara Jakobson’s Upper East Side home is an open book. Since 1965, the collector and MoMA trustee has filled all five stories with paintings, sculpture, photography, and furniture.

Jakobson grew up across the street from the Brooklyn Museum and found the galleries a welcome escape. After studying art and architectural history at Smith, she began collecting art and befriended influential dealers including Sidney Janis, Ileana Sonnabend, and Leo Castelli, who sold her a Jasper Johns from the artist’s first solo show on an installment plan. She soon joined the Museum of Modern Art’s Junior Council, eventually becoming its head, and became a trustee in 1974.

Her home is a testament to the many friendships formed over an illustrious career. She was close with Robert Mapplethorpe and his portraits of her adorn the walls. A Robert Morris felt sculpture purchased in 1970 still hangs in the same spot.

In 2005, Jakobson sold much of her art and furniture in a sale with Christie’s. Among the works that sold were Frank Stella’s “Felstzyn III” (1971) and a rare photograph by Diane Arbus, whom Jakobson met at a Central Park playground in the 1950s.

Following the sale, Jakobson continued to collect with a focus on furniture designed by artists. She already owned a daybed by the sculptor Rachel Whiteread and a “Lolita” rug by Barbara Bloom. Having sold her dining room furniture, Jakobson commissioned Tom Sachs to design a bar, which he constructed out of orange-and-white-striped beams from Con Edison barricades. Sachs also asked Jakobson to maintain his selection of beverages—the artist had placed handwritten labels like “red” for Campari over each bottle. A shotgun, also made from a Con Edison barricade, hangs over the bar.

Photos by Annie Schlechter and Horst P. Horst/Conde Nast via Getty Images.

Image: A portrait of Jakobson by her late friend Robert Mapplethorpe hangs above the fireplace in the sitting room. Other pieces include photographs by Matthew Barney. The chair in front of the fireplace is designed by Richard Artschwager and the “Lolita” rug is by Barbara Bloom. A rubber vase by the Campana brothers occupies the middle of the room.

A stairwell is filled with works by Diane Arbus, Richard Avedon, August Sander, and Jean Curran. In the hallway is a drawing by David Novros and a partially seen painting by Jozef Peeters.
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A Robert Morris felt installation which Jakobson bought in 1970 and “has never moved.” The whimsical wallpaper is by Peter Halley.
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The living room features an outline of Frank Stella’s “Felsztyn III” (1971), which was sold in a 2005 Christie’s auction. Jeff Koons’s “Winter Bears” (1988) observe a 1972 de Sede modular sofa.
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hristian Hubert helped design Jakobson’s decorative-arts library in the ‘80s. The desk and wall bookshelf were designed by Gio Ponti, the area rug is by Edward McKnight Kauffer, and the desk chair is by Richard Neutra.
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A Gehry plywood chair mingles with the art in a dressing room.
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Jakobson’s lounge features a worn Edward Wormley armchair and ottoman and, on the wall, four 1977 portraits by Mapplethorpe, which he grouped and framed.
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Jakobson’s bedroom features a Lucite bed from Grosfeld House.
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Jakobson in her Dutch-made stairlift. Tom Sachs created the bar from Con Ed barricades after she sold her dining-room furniture at Christie’s.
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Jakobson at home in 1973.
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An overhead view of the living room in 1973, showing Frank Stella's Felsztyn III over the sofa; an Ad Reinhardt triptych; one of Cy Twombly's Blackboard Series and one of Josef Albers' Homage to the Square.
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