Doris Lockhart Saatchi, Influential Contemporary Art Collector and Critic, Passes Away at 88

Doris Lockhart Saatchi, a prominent American-born art collector and critic known for championing contemporary movements such as Minimalism and Pop Art in both the UK and the US, passed away on August 6 in London at the age of 88.

Her passing was confirmed by her longtime nurse, Mary Ann Paydoen, who cited chronic kidney disease and related health complications as the cause. Ms. Saatchi resided in London’s Belgravia district.

During the 1970s, she and her then-husband, British advertising magnate Charles Saatchi, began building what was hailed as one of the world’s premier contemporary art collections. Their acquisitions included hundreds of works by leading artists such as Donald Judd, Brice Marden, Andy Warhol, Robert Ryman, and Carl Andre.

In 1985, the couple inaugurated a museum in a repurposed paint warehouse located in North London’s St. John’s Wood. This venue rapidly became a pivotal platform for contemporary art, exhibiting a wide range of styles from sleek, minimalist pieces to those featuring textured surfaces and dynamic light effects.

With the financial backing from Mr. Saatchi, whose advertising career notably contributed to Margaret Thatcher’s rise as British prime minister, combined with Ms. Saatchi’s refined curatorial insight, the pair successfully propelled modernist art into the spotlight on both sides of the Atlantic.