Science writer Loebl, a Brooklyn, N.Y. freelance, chronicles the collecting and funding exploits of oil heir John D. Rockefeller, Jr.; his wife, Abby; and their children, whose imprint on 20thcentury art is indelible. Not only did Abby cofound New York’s Museum of Modern Art, but the family underwrote a vast set of initiatives, including the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute Museum, Colonial Williamsburg, influential collections, and museums of medieval art, Mexican art, African art, and American folk art. Loebl generally applauds Rockefeller tastes, downplays the dynamic of plutocratic vanity, and shrugs off urbanist criticisms of the Rockefeller-led Lincoln Center. But, how does a science writer go from writing about arthritis to writing about art? “Art was always my avocation,” Loebl said. Trained as a chemist, she became a science writer and book author. While traveling for the Arthritis Foundation, she gathered material that led to the publication of a guidebook to American art museums. The title of her current book evolved from an observation by Vogue editor, Frank Crowninshield, that John D. Rockefeller, Jr. became “the greatest friend and patron of the arts since Lorenzo de Medici” when he commissioned art for the construction of Rockefeller Center during the midst of the Great Depression. n Loebl can be reached at suzylo@aol.com and 718-875-2622. Press representative is Beth Harper at beth.harper@harpercollins.com and 212-207-7985.