Electra Havemeyer Webb

Electra Havemeyer Webb ( also Mrs. James Watson Webb) ( born August 16, 1888 in New York, NY, USA, † November 19, 1960 ibid ) was an American art collector and museum founder.

Electra Havemeyer was the third child of Henry O. Havemeyer and Louisine W. Havemeyer. Both parents came from families of sugar manufacturers and were among the wealthiest families in the United States. My parents' house on the prestigious New York's Fifth Avenue was filled with an extensive art collection of European paintings, chinsesischen vases, Japanese lacquerware, ancient sculptures and furniture of Tiffany. Even as a child she traveled several times with her parents to Europe (especially France ) and visited museums in addition to your parents shopped mainly art galleries where.

Electra married in 1910 James Watson Webb ( 1884-1960 ), who was the mother of the family related to Vanderbilt and thus was also one of the richest families in America. The couple had five children and lived in New York and in a house in Shelburne, Vermont. The house in Shelburne ( The Brickhouse ) can be seen today and the establishment of the New York apartment is also on display in Shelburne ( Shelburne Museum ). After the death of her parents Electra inherited a small part of their art collection (paintings / today in the Shelburne Museum ).

The actual performance of Electra Havemeyer Webb was her passion for collecting American folk art ( Americana ) at a time when nobody was interested in these things. While other collectors aligned with the European taste, Electra Havemeyer roamed over the land and bought the farmers old farm equipment, crockery and old toys from. For her contemporaries, this was simply collect garbage. Your collection had except the regional reference no limits besides carriages and railroad cars, a steam ship, a wooden covered bridge and eventually entire buildings were added. She wore together barns, a lighthouse, a prison, shops, craft shops - to their collection eventually included more than 150,000 pieces. In 1947 she founded the Shelburne Museum, which is the most important museum of American folk art today. Electra Havemeyers use it is thanks to them that the folk art in America was upgraded from the commodity to the cultural and historical museum items. It is also referred to as grandmother of folk art.

Weblink

  • Http://www.shelburnemuseum.org/
  • Collector
  • Patron
  • Americans
  • Born in 1888
  • Died in 1960
  • Woman
Louisine Havemeyer Vanderbilt family Shelburne (Vermont) Integrated Authority File
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