Like their art collection at the Weatherspoon, the Cone sisters were extraordinary for their time. The eldest, Claribel (1864-1929), was one of the country’s first female doctors, graduating first in her class from Woman’s Medical College in 1890 and continuing her education at Johns Hopkins University Medical School.
Etta (1870-1949), quieter and more subservient, was responsible for beginning their collection in 1898 when their father gave her $300 to spruce up the family home in Baltimore. Instead of purchasing curtains and drapes, she bought five oil paintings from an artist’s estate sale.
Claribel and Etta Cone, Paris, ca. 1925, Baltimore Museum of Art, the Cone Archives.
What began as ornamentation quickly became a passion. On a trip to Europe in 1901, Etta fell in love with art, partly due to the guidance of Leo Stein, brother of Gertrude Stein. In fact, it was when the sisters were in Paris with the Steins in 1905 that they first encountered the work of Henri Matisse.
After the Steins began to purchase Matisse’s work, the Cone sisters also warmed to his style. Soon they were buying his art regularly, 500 works in all, to create the largest and most significant collection in the world. The sisters were also interested in other experimental painters of the time, including Pablo Picasso, although they could never fully accept his unusual lifestyle.
Over the years, their collection increased along with their interest in art. Their Paris apartments were filled with art, so much so that Claribel rented a second apartment for “her museum.”
The Cone sisters were fortunate to come from a wealthy family of textile industry entrepreneurs who opened the Cone Mills in Greensboro, the main supplier of denim during World War I. After the family’s wartime success, it was even easier for the sisters to continue their collection with much more money to spend on works of art and all kinds of wonderful things.
When Claribel died in 1929, her will stipulated that her art collection should go to Etta. When Etta died in 1949, she bequeathed both of their collections to the Baltimore Museum; however, the Weatherspoon also received a significant gift through the efforts of Etta’s sister-in-law, Laura Weill Cone, a Greensboro civic leader, loyal 1910 alumna, and an early advocate for the Weatherspoon. She asked Etta to consider a donation of art. In her will dated May 18, 1949, Etta left 67 Matisse prints and six Matisse bronzes and a large number of modern prints and drawings, including works by Pablo Picasso, Félix Vallotton, Raoul Dufy, and John D. Graham which make up the Cone Collection.
Cone Collection Opening
Three exhibitions of drawings, lithographs, and other selections from the Claribel and Etta Cone Collection will open June 25 at the Weatherspoon.
Matisse Drawings: Curated by Ellsworth Kelly from The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation Collection – through September 18.
Plant Lithographs by Ellsworth Kelly 1964-1966 – through September 18.
Matisse Selections from the Claribel and Etta Cone Collection – through October 16.
A special presentation at the Weatherspoon, Modern Art on Display: The Legacies of Six Collectors, will be presented on June 23.