Electra Havemeyer Webb

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

Mary Cassatt: Electra Havemeyer with her mother Louisine Havemeyer 1895 Shelburne Museum

Life

Electra Havemeyer was the third child of Henry O. Havemeyer (1847–1907) and Louisine W. Havemeyer . Both parents came from families of sugar manufacturers and were among the wealthiest families in the United States. Her parents' home on New York's posh Fifth Avenue was filled with an extensive art collection of European paintings, Chinese vases, Japanese lacquer work, antique sculptures, and Tiffany furniture . As a child, she traveled with her parents to Europe several times (especially to France) and, in addition to museums, mainly visited art galleries where her parents did their shopping.

In 1910, Electra married James Watson Webb II (1884–1960), who was related to the Vanderbilt family on his mother's side and was 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 Brick House in Shelburne is open to the public today and the furnishings from the New York apartment are also on display in Shelburne (Shelburne Museum). After the death of her parents, Electra inherited a small part of their art collection (paintings / now in the Shelburne Museum).

Electra Havemeyer Webb's real achievement was her passion for collecting American folk art (Americana) at a time when no one was interested in these things. While other collectors oriented themselves towards European tastes, Electra Havemeyer roamed the country and bought old agricultural machinery, dishes and old toys from the farmers. For their contemporaries, this was simply collecting rubbish. Apart from the regional reference, their collection had no limits: in addition to carriages and railroad cars, there was also a steamship, a wooden-covered bridge and finally entire buildings. She put together barns, a lighthouse, a prison, shops, and craft shops - until her collection finally comprised more than 150,000 pieces. In 1947 she founded the Shelburne Museum , which is still the most important museum for American folk art today. It is thanks to Electra Havemeyer's commitment that folk art in America has been upgraded from consumer goods to cultural and historical museum goods. She is also known as the grandmother of folk art.

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