Further to her independent design sense, Hester Diamond was known for her wide-ranging and comprehensive collection of exotic minerals, metals, and gemstones, which were prominently displayed throughout her home and will be offered as part of the collection. The vibrant colorscape of the minerals perfectly complemented the modern furnishings of the home and her eclectic style. Displayed from the perspective of an art installation rather than a cabinet of specimens, the collection is an excellent cross section of mineral collecting over the last 30 years. Highlights from the group include an impressive Smoky Quartz and Amazonite (estimate $20/30,000), an extremely delicate Amethyst “Rose’ (estimate $1/2,000), and a massive Naturally Etched Aquamarine (estimate $20/30,000)

BIOGRAPHY

Born in the Bronx, Hester appreciated art from a young age, visiting New York’s museums nearly every afternoon following her classes at Hunter College. After first working as a social worker in the early 1950s and wanting to pursue a career in the arts, Hester took a position at Stair and Company, a leading antiques gallery on 57th Street in New York. Through her work at Stair, she and her first husband, Harold Diamond, would become friends with Martha Jackson, the owner of an important gallery of cutting-edge contemporary art also on 57th Street, and would soon become immersed in the art world. Not long after, Hester and Harold approached British artist Barbara Hepworth, whose work she admired but whom she had never met, offering to represent her in the United States. To their surprise, Hepworth accepted, and from there on, friendships with artists and collectors ensued, and the Diamonds began their career as prominent art dealers.

As one of the preeminent tastemakers of her generation, Hester would go on to establish a thriving interior design business, recognizing a market for her refined and eclectic sense of style. But, it was after the death of Harold in 1982 that Hester began to seriously collect Old Master paintings and sculpture, selling much of her modern collection, including works by Picasso, Matisse, and Kandinsky, at Sotheby’s in 2004,  in an effort to seek out new collecting opportunities and build a collection with a new identity.

Hester's interest in Old Masters would blossom with her second husband, Ralph Kaminsky, and with this new aesthetic focus, Hester's characteristic design sensibility would inform her approach to organizing and displaying her new collection. She replaced the 18th and 19th century furniture in her home with modern and contemporary pieces featuring vibrant colors, angular shapes, and hard edges, to create a dynamic contrast between in the home. She also acquired several significant pieces of contemporary art to further highlight the contrasting aesthetic.

Her deep passion for Old Masters and commitment to philanthropy led her to co-found The Medici Archive Project, an organization that supports archival research for scholars and students of Renaissance and Baroque art, and Vistas (Virtual Images of Sculpture in Time and Space), a non-for-profit publishing project focused on new scholarship for Old Master Sculpture.
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