The Hugo Helbing Lecture // Frances Fowle: Invisible Agents - Women Collectors and the Art Market

Until recently women’s agency in the arts, both as collectors and museum patrons, has been largely overlooked. The nineteenth century saw the development of the modern art market, creating opportunities for women to assert their independence in the cultural sphere. In particular, they played a pioneering role in the early reception of modern French art and also as collectors of the decorative arts. Nevertheless, their influence as tastemakers has frequently been downplayed or even completely overlooked. Focusing on the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, this lecture explores the role of women collectors as tastemakers and philanthropists in Europe and the USA, and considers such issues as class, philanthropy, financial independence, gender bias, the role of the art dealer, social networks and nationalism. In particular it explores the ways in which women historically have been ‘erased’ from collecting history, their role often overshadowed by a husband, agent or advisor, or their names missing from stockbooks and dealer correspondence. Examples will include Bertha Palmer in Chicago, Helene Kröller-Müller in the Netherlands and the Davies sister and Elizabeth Workman in Britain.