La Musée: French Museum Acquires 523 Works by Women Artists | ICOM Voices
Poitiers, France – A remarkable collection of over 500 works by female artists, spanning from the 17th to the 21st centuries, has found a permanent home at the Sainte-Croix Museum in Poitiers. The collection, amassed by Eugénie Dubreuil over a quarter of a century, represents a significant effort to redress the historical imbalance in art representation and is being hailed as a vital sociological record of feminist thought.
Dubreuil, a retired drawing teacher and artist herself, began collecting in 1999, sparked by a seemingly little purchase at auction: a sketch by Marie Laurencin, the partner of poet Guillaume Apollinaire. As she recounted, the piece resonated with her not just for its artistic merit, but for the perceived disparity in critical attention given to Laurencin compared to her male contemporaries. This initial impulse grew into a dedicated pursuit, guided by a simple principle: to acquire works solely based on the gender of the artist.
What began as a personal passion project, dubbed ‘La Musée’ by Dubreuil, evolved into a substantial collection encompassing paintings, sculptures, graphic arts, decorative arts, and miniatures. Recognizing the scale and importance of her work, Dubreuil sought a public institution capable of housing and showcasing it. After facing initial rejections, she found a receptive partner in the Sainte-Croix Museum in Poitiers, a museum with a pre-existing commitment to highlighting the contributions of women artists.
The acquisition process, finalized on , was complex, reflecting the unique nature of the collection. Its size and eclectic range necessitated careful consideration by the City of Poitiers and the Service des Musées de France. The collection was ultimately divided into two groups: 310 works were presented as a donation to the regional scientific commission, while the remainder were added as a deposit to the museum’s collections. This division allowed for a phased approach to authentication and research, addressing gaps in information about some of the artists represented – many of whom remain relatively unknown.
The process wasn’t without debate. The unconventional nature of Dubreuil’s collecting criteria – focusing solely on gender – prompted discussion among the institutions overseeing museum acquisitions in France. Though, the scientific value of the collection was ultimately affirmed, bolstered by a €150,000 grant from the Les Beaux Yeux endowment fund, established by Dubreuil herself. This funding was earmarked for a five-year project dedicated to showcasing women artists, culminating in a landmark exhibition.
That exhibition, La Musée : une collection d’artistes femmes, ran from to , and featured over 300 works from the collection. Rather than a traditional biographical approach, the curators opted for a thematic presentation, emphasizing the story behind the collection itself – its origins as a private endeavor, the challenges of its institutionalization, and the broader sociological phenomena it illuminates. The exhibition served as a “manifesto,” according to museum materials, highlighting the mechanisms of exclusion that have historically marginalized women in the art world.
The curators deliberately avoided focusing solely on the most celebrated female artists – Rosa Bonheur, Niki de Saint-Phalle, and Suzanne Valadon among them – instead prioritizing contextualization and shedding light on lesser-known figures. This approach reflects a commitment to gender studies methodologies and a desire to move beyond a purely celebratory narrative.
The exhibition also addressed the systemic issues that contribute to the underrepresentation of women artists in museums, including lower acquisition rates, less frequent public display, and inadequate conservation efforts. A key goal was to challenge the tendency to treat exhibitions of women’s work as temporary events, rather than integrating them into permanent collections. To that end, a comprehensive catalogue was published, and works from La Musée are now being incorporated into the Sainte-Croix Museum’s permanent exhibition.
The impact of La Musée extends beyond the exhibition itself. The Museums of Poitiers are reinforcing their commitment to showcasing women artists in their permanent displays, with plans to highlight works by Marie Bracquemond and Madeleine Jouvray. A series of “La Musée Meetings” are scheduled to begin in , in partnership with the University of Poitiers and the Femmes Artistes en Réseaux network. These annual meetings will foster collaboration between museum professionals and researchers, promoting the continued study and appreciation of women artists.
The acquisition of La Musée represents a significant step towards addressing the historical imbalance in art representation. It’s a testament to the dedication of one collector, Eugénie Dubreuil, and a powerful reminder of the importance of actively seeking out and celebrating the contributions of women artists throughout history. The project also underscores the evolving role of museums as not just repositories of art, but as active agents in promoting social justice and challenging ingrained biases.