Michael Rubenstein attended Cornell University, graduating in 1957, before enrolling as a Fulbright Scholar on the Architectural Association’s Department of Tropical Architecture post-graduate course in 1960-61. After graduating, Rubenstein returned to New York where he established his own practice, often collaborating with interior designers such as Renny Salzman. Alongside his architectural work, Rubenstein has developed a reputation as an art collector of international significance. He appears to have begun collecting in New York from a young age, purchasing a John Hartell piece, at the age of 17. Together with his late wife, Juliet van Vliet, he went on to build a significant collection, 160 pieces of which were donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and formed the 2020 exhibition at the Met Breuer ‘From Géricault to Rockburne: Selections from the Michael and Juliet Rubenstein Gift.’
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