Embracing the World: East European Women Art Collectors as Social Influencers (19th-21st Century)

Women art collectors have frequently been overshadowed by their husbands or fathers, with their contributions relegated to a lesser-known aspect of a shared familial pursuit. The proposed session seeks to transcend mere acknowledgement of female contributions to the history of art collecting, which have gained increased recognition in recent decades. We aim to highlight the importance of female collecting as a catalyst in the development of Eastern European societies during the last two centuries. The creation of art collections served as a means for Eastern European elites to interact and synchronise with the culture, lifestyle, and values of their Western counterparts, particularly from the 19th century onwards. What is the role of women in this process? What was the impact of female agency on the establishment of family and personal collections? What drove them, what were their standards, and how aware were they of the importance of their endeavours? We aim to examine the social influence of these women, who, in European countries oscillating between modernity and traditionalism and thereafter governed by authoritarian and isolationist political regimes, have altered perspectives and fostered novel kinds of cultural consumption.

The session will feature a documentary video screening that includes interviews with prominent woman collectors in Romania nowadays. The film serves as the initial framework for the debate. Additionally, we plan to invite 3-5 individual presentations focussing on the historical instances of women from Eastern Europe who curated private art collections during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Submit your Paper via this form. Please download, complete and send it directly to the Session Convenor(s) below by Sunday 2 November 2025:

Ioana Ciocan, University of Bucharest, ioana.ciocan@unibuc.ro

Daniela Zaharia, University of Bucharest, daniela.zaharia@istorie.unibuc.ro