|Miss Etta and Dr. Claribe|
Bringing Matisse to America
by Susan Fillion
Beginning in 1905, they began collecting modern art, following their own instincts, disregarding what the critics said. The Steins introduced them to Matisse and Picasso, and the sisters became life-long friends and patrons of both artists.
Over the years, their collection grew to some 3,000 works of art, including painting and sculpture by Matisse, Picasso, Pissarro, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Gauguin and others -- as well as jewelry, decorative arts and textiles from their travels in Asia and Africa.
The sisters bequeathed their collection to the Baltimore Museum of Art, which loaned more than 50 pieces to the Jewish Museum for this exquisite exhibit.
Before leaving the museum, I stopped at the gift shop, where I was delighted to find a wonderful picture book, just published this year, Miss Etta and Dr. Claribel: Bringing Matisse to America by Susan Fillion.
An artist and museum educator, Fillion wrote a version of the Cone sisters' story for children, and illustrated it with her own paintings, many of which were based on archival photographs. The book also includes reproductions of some of the art in the collection. This is a beautiful and fascinating art history book for children. I couldn't resist adding it to my own collection of picture books.
Coming up -- Banned Book Week, and more on art and writing. Please check back!