him a series of photographs of the location, Matisse changed his mind and began to work on the project. On November 1, 1954, he wrote that he had happily completed the work, and he died two days later. Patronage of modern art and contributions to the Museum of Modern Art Patron of Modern Art Abby Rockefeller began collecting paintings, watercolors, and drawings by a number of contemporary American artists in 1925, as well as a number of European modernists: Vincent van Gogh, Edgar Degas, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Paul Cézanne, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. She became a prominent patron of modern art. In 1928, she employed Donald Deskey to create a series of furnished rooms, done in the art deco style, for the Rockefeller home. These rooms were dubbed the Topside Gallery, and served as a display area for Rockefeller's growing art collection. The art in the room was regularly cycled, forming curated exhibitions of Rockefeller's modern and folk art collections. Visitors to the gallery rode an elevator to the 7th floor of the Rockefeller home, keeping the gallery separate, though connected, from private family areas. The news of her interests and activities spread quickly from this period, and many subsequent collectors began to follow her lead. Co-Founder of Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Lillie P. Bliss, Mary Quinn Sullivan, and Rockefeller joined to conceptualize what is now known as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. Quickly, they gathered the support of other prominent figures including: Anson Goodyear, Murray Crane, and Paul J. Sachs. The founding board consisted of seven members, with Goodyear as the president. The first quarters for the museum were rented at 730 Fifth Avenue in New York and Alfred H. Barr Jr. was appointed as the museum's first director. Since her husband only gave her a relatively small allowance, she could not solely rely on him to finance the new museum. His financial support was especially limited due to his personal distaste for modern art. Thus, financing for the museum and acquisition of paintings came from Rockefeller's solicitation of the public, corporations, and prominent New York residents. Rockefeller was elected to MoMA's board of trustees in October 1929 and served as inaugural treasurer from 1929 until 1934. Her other roles included terms as First Vice-president from 1934 until 1936, and First Vice-chairman from 1941 to 1945. Her son Nelson Rockefeller was involved in