FIG. 2: Feather cape. Hawaii. Yellow and black ‘o’o feathers, red ‘i’iwi feathers, fiber. W: 81.3 cm. Ex James Hooper, Sussex. Photo: Reed Young. FIG. 3 (right): Figure from the front of a storehouse. Maori, New Zealand. Wood. H: 41.9 cm. Photo: Reed Young. that was available there at the time to be particularly compelling. He did acquire a few pieces—notably an intricate canoe prow prominently displayed in the main room and some especially fine fu (headhunting trumpets) that now adorn his bedroom wall. The trip opened his eyes to Pacific art. As he says, “That year abroad changed my life, but not in the way Harvard had intended!” As a collector, Gordon focuses exclusively on the art of the Pacific, notably Melanesia and Polynesia. Two of the first pieces he acquired on the art market were a Papuan Gulf figure that had been collected by Paul Wirz and a remarkably dimensional Maori figurative sculpture. From his earliest pieces, he has been interested in ironclad provenance. Acquired at Sotheby’s in London, the Maori figure lacks this, but it is so clearly ancient that he felt it was worth making an exception. While he acquired some remarkable artworks early on in the late seventies and early eighties, one thing he didn’t realize was how plentiful good material was at that time. He enjoys working with certain dealers who have sourced good material for
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