Berthe Weill

Berthe Weill, 1865–1951), pioneering art gallery owner
Leaflet for Modigliani's only one-man exhibition, held at Galerie Berthe Weill in 1917. The exhibition was closed by the police on grounds of nudity

Berthe Weill (Paris 1865 – 1951)[1]: 11  was a French art dealer who played a vital role in the creation of the market for twentieth-century art with the manifestation of the Parisian Avant-Garde. Although she is much less known than her well-established competitors like Ambroise Vollard, Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler and Paul Rosenberg, she may be credited with producing the first sales in Paris for Pablo Picasso[2]: 26  and Henri Matisse[2]: 26  and with providing Amedeo Modigliani with the only solo exhibition in his lifetime. (See poster advertising the exhibition.)

The impressive list of artists who made their way through her gallery and into the canon of modern art continues with names such as Raoul Dufy, André Derain, Maurice de Vlaminck, Diego Rivera, Georges Braque, Kees van Dongen, Maurice Utrillo, Pablo Picasso, François Zdenek Eberl and Jean Metzinger. Her role was also important in the early exposure and sales of women painters such as Suzanne Valadon, Emilie Charmy and Jacqueline Marval.[3] "Of the nearly 400 exhibitions she mounted, one third included works of art by women artists," wrote the New York Times in 2024.[4]

In 1933, Weill published her memoirs, an account of thirty years as an art dealer, from which many historical renditions quote.[5] Her gallery lasted until 1939, and notwithstanding the number of luminary artists that passed through her gallery, she remained poor and destitute her whole life and after her death was almost forgotten.

Recently, interest in Berthe Weill has become more significant.[2] In 2007, Picasso's portrait of Berthe Weill (1920) was designated a French national treasure.[6]: 11  In 2009, her memoirs (1933) were republished[1] and a compilation of her gallery exhibitions;[6] in 2011, the first study dedicated to her life and dealership was published by leading Weill scholar Marianne Le Morvan.[7] In February 2012, the City of Paris decided to place a memorial plaque at 25 rue Victor Massé (Paris), where Berthe Weill opened her first gallery in 1900.[8]

  1. ^ a b Weill, Berthe, "Pan ! Dans L'œil ! Ou trente ans dans les coulisses de la peinture contemporaine 1900-1930", L'Échelle de Jacob, 2009 (Préface by François Roussier de la Tronche)
  2. ^ a b c FitzGerald Michael, "Making Modernism: Picasso and the Creation of the Market for Twentieth-Century Art", Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York", 1995, "[1]"
  3. ^ Perry Gill. "Women Artists and the Parisian avant-garde: Modernism and 'feminine' art, 1900 to the late 1920s", Manchester University Press, Manchester and New York", 1995
  4. ^ Sheets, Hilarie M. (October 2, 2024). "The Forgotten Dealer Who Discovered Picasso and Matisse". The New York Times. Vol. 173, no. 60295. pp. C1, C7.
  5. ^ Weill, Berthe. "Pan ! Dans L'œil! Ou trente ans dans les coulisses de la peinture contemporaine 1900-1930", Lipschutz, Paris 1933
  6. ^ a b Sanchez, Pierre, "Les expositions de la Galerie Berthe Weill (1901-1942) et de la Galerie Devambez (1907-1926) Repertoire des artistes et liste de leurs œuvres", II, L'Échelle de Jacob, Dijon, 2009
  7. ^ Le Morvan, Marianne, "Berthe Weill 1865-1951 La petite galeriste des grands artistes", L'Écarlate, Orléans, 2011
  8. ^ "Decision by the Council of Paris to install a "plaque commémorative" at 25, rue Victor Massé". Archived from the original on 2016-01-06. Retrieved 2012-07-01.