Wilhelmina Cole Holladay
Wilhelmina Cole Holladay (born October 10, 1922 in New York City ) is an American art collector and patron . Together with her husband Wallace Holladay, she founded the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC
She graduated from Elmira College in 1944 with a degree in art history and subsequently studied in Paris, worked for the United States Air Force and married the building contractor and real estate developer Wallace F. Holladay.
The couple began collecting art in the 1950s. Holladay was enthusiastic about the work of Clara Peeters , but found it unnoticed. As a result, Wallaces began to collect women's art and acquired works by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun , Artemisia Gentileschi , and Angelika Kauffmann , among others .
In 1981 they founded the National Museum of Women in the Arts, which was initially housed in their private home. It has been in a former Masonic temple since 1987 .
Wilhelmina Holladay received numerous honors. For example, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1996 , received the National Medal of Arts in 2006, and became a member of the French Legion of Honor in the same year .
Web links
- National Women's Hall of Fame biography
- National Museum of Women in the Arts profile
- 2005 interview with Wilhelmina Holladay (Smithsonian Institution Archives of American Art project)
- 2009 Smart Woman Online Q&A with Wilhelmina Holladay
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Holladay, Wilhelmina Cole |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American art collector and patron |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 10, 1922 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York City |