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Burke had a genuine passion for learning about the pieces she collected, becoming
more discerning over time through working with Japanese art dealers and prominent
scholars of Japanese art. She developed a close relationship with Miyeko Murase, a
prominent professor of Asian Art at Columbia University in New York, who provided
inspiration for what to collect and helped her understand the art. He persuaded her
to read Tale of the Genji, which influenced her to make several purchases of
paintings and screens depicting scenes from the book.
Burke was a steadfast supporter of academia, working closely with Murase’s
graduate teaching program at Columbia University; she provided financial support
to students, held seminars, and opened her homes in New York and Long Island to
allow the students to study her art collection. She knew that her art collection could
help improve the academic field and discourse, as well as improve her understanding
of her own collection.
When she died, she bequeathed half of her collection to The Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York, and the other half to the Minneapolis Institute of Art,
her hometown.

Photo of Mary Griggs Burke during her first trip to Japan, 1954, via The Met Museum, New York

Katherine S. Dreier: 20th-Century Art’s Fiercest Champion

Katherine S. Dreier is best known today as the tireless crusader and advocate for
modern art in the United States. Dreier immersed herself in art from an early age, training
at the Brooklyn Art School, and traveling to Europe with her sister to study Old Masters.
It was not until 1907-08 that she was exposed to modern art, viewing the art of Picasso
and Matisse in the Paris home of prominent art collectors Gertrude and Leo Stein. She
began collecting soon after in 1912, having bought Van Gogh’s, Portrait de Mlle. Ravoux,
at the Cologne Sonderbund Exhibition, a comprehensive showing of European Avant-
garde works.
Her painting style developed along with her collection and dedication to the modernist
movement thanks to her training and the guidance of her friend, prominent 20th-century
artist Marcel Duchamp. This friendship solidified her dedication to the movement and
she began to work to establish a permanent gallery space in New York, dedicated to
modern art. During this time, she was introduced to and collected the art of international
and progressive Avant-garde artists like Constantin Brâncuși, Marcel Duchamp, and
Wassily Kandinsky.
She developed her own philosophy that informed how she collected modern art and
how it should be viewed. Dreier believed “art” was only “art” if it communicated spiritual
knowledge to the viewer.
With Marcel Duchamp and several other art collectors and artists, Dreier established Yellow Bird by Constantin Brâncuși, 1919; with Portrait of
Société Anonyme, an organization that sponsored lectures, exhibitions, and publications Katherine S. Dreier by Anne Goldthwaite, 1915–16,
dedicated to modern art. The collections they exhibited were mostly 20th-century via Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven
modern art, but also included European post-impressionists like Van Gogh and Cézanne.
With the success of the exhibitions and lectures of Société Anonyme, the idea of establishing a museum dedicated to modern art transformed
into a plan to create a cultural and educational institution dedicated to modern art. Due to a lack of financial support for the project, Dreier and
Duchamp donated the bulk of Société Anonyme’s collection to the Yale Institute of Art in 1941, and the rest of her art collection was donated to
various museums upon Dreier’s death in 1942.
Though her dream to create a cultural institution was never realized, she will always be remembered as the fiercest advocate of the modern art
movement, creator of an organization that predated the Museum of Modern Art, and donor of a comprehensive collection of 20th-century art.

Lillie P. Bliss: Collector and Patron

Best known as one of the driving forces behind the establishment of the
Museum of Modern Art in New York, Lizzie P. Bliss, known as Lillie, was
one of the most significant art collectors and patrons of the 20th century.
Born to a wealthy textile merchant who served as a member of President
McKinley’s cabinet, Bliss was exposed to the arts at an early age. Bliss was
an accomplished pianist, having trained in both classical and contemporary
music. Her interest in music was her initial motivation for her first stint as
a patron, providing financial support to musicians, opera singers, and the
then-fledgling Julliard School for the Arts.
Like many other women on this list, Bliss’ tastes were guided by an
artist advisor, and Bliss became acquainted with the prominent modern
artist Arthur B. Davies in 1908. Under his tutelage, Bliss collected mainly
late 19th to early 20th century Impressionists’ work from artists such as
Matisse, Degas, Gauguin, and Davies.

Lizzie P. Bliss, 1904, via Arthur B. Davies Papers, Delaware Art Museum,
Wilmington; The Silence by Odilon Redon, 1911, via MoMA, New York
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