As noted in Art and Activism: Projects of John and Dominique de Menil, edited by Josef Helfenstein and Laureen Schipsi, the de Menils’ collection was a conscious effort to increase others’ welfare. They considered art “a basic human necessity,” not something to be monopolized by the rich, and intended their art to educate generations that came long after them.
When modern artists like Picasso and Matisse first started trying to sell the public on their work, the experience was extremely difficult—everyone knows just how successful Van Gogh was, after all. Sometimes it took a little extra marketing on the painter’s part in order to close a sale. In Karen
The Steins were not the only Jewish American family interested in collecting the strikingly profound works of the Modernist era; in fact, they were friends with Baltimore sisters Claribel and Etta Cone, who visited the expats and were captivated by the Parisian art of Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. The
Last weekend at SFMOMA was the opening of “The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso, and the Parisian Avant-Garde”, an exhibition showcasing the energy, creativity, and artistic patronage of the Stein family: Gertrude, her brothers Leo, Michael and his wife Sarah. Already a hit with San Francisco Chronicle art critic, Kenneth Baker,