Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters: The Cone Sisters of Baltimore

Deutsche Bank is proud to sponsor Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters: The Cone Sisters of Baltimore, an exhibition consisting of 45 pieces drawn from the Baltimore Museum of Art's internationally renowned Cone Collection of modern art.  This exhibition includes paintings, sculptures and works on paper by Matisse, Picasso, Gauguin, Renoir, Van Gogh and other modern masters, and focuses on the remarkable vision of two Jewish sisters from Baltimore, and the personal relationships they formed with the contemporary artists of their time as they shaped their extraordinary collection of modern art. 

In the early 20th century, Claribel and Etta Cone visited the Paris studios of Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso and began assembling one of the world’s most important art collections.  Among Matisse’s first patrons, the Cone sisters collected throughout his entire career.  The sisters also acquired works by Picasso, including an important group of prints and drawings from the artist’s early years in Barcelona and his Rose period in Paris, as well as masterpieces by Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, and Vincent van Gogh, works by earlier French masters such as Delacroix, Courbet, and Renoir, and a variety of textiles, jewelry, furniture, and African, Asian, and Near Eastern art.  Claribel and Etta amassed an exceptional collection of approximately 3,000 objects, which were displayed in their Baltimore apartments.  The highlight is a group of 500 works by Matisse, considered the largest and most significant in the world. 

The exhibition, organized by The Baltimore Museum of Art, The Jewish Museum, New York and the Vancouver Art Gallery, includes works by Matisse, Picasso, Gauguin, Gustave Courbet, and Camille Pissarro. In addition to masterworks of French art, the exhibition will include photographs and archival materials to place the Cone Sisters’ extraordinary story in the context of the exciting world of modern art and the artists who made history.