For four decades, Berthe Weill (1865-1951) ran one of the pioneering galleries of modern art, serving as a key figure in the avant-garde movement when Paris was the beating heart of the art market. With spirit and freedom, though never making a fortune, she was instrumental in promoting groundbreaking artists whose names are now legendary: Picasso, Matisse, Modigliani, and Picabia. Yet while her artists achieved global fame, Weill herself remains largely unknown to the public.
The Musée de l'Orangerie is now retracing the extraordinary journey of the "little Mother Weill," as she was affectionately known, who accomplished so many wonders in the art world. Among the highlights of the exhibition is a vibrant still life by Raoul Dufy titled "30 Years or Life in Pink" from 1931. Dufy was the artist most frequently shown by Berthe Weill—an impressive 37 times throughout their collaboration. For the exhibition "The Joy of Living," celebrating her gallery's 30th anniversary in 1931, Dufy created this brilliant work, inscribing the friendly message "30 years or life in pink" on the canvas.
In 1931, anticipating the upcoming publication of her memoirs, the weekly magazine "Les Nouvelles littéraires, artistiques et scientifiques" wrote mischievously: "Miss B. Weill has sharp teeth and a good memory. So much so that from Saint-Tropez to Sanary, passing through the terrace of the Dôme [in Montparnasse], the Memoirs of little and great Miss B. Weill are the subject of all conversations—and several people are a bit worried." This concern was hardly surprising, given that Berthe Weill had been one of the major protagonists in the creative scene of her time.
Weill had resolutely defended artists at a time when names like Matisse, Modigliani, Picasso, and many others meant nothing to the general public. The well-informed journalist knew that the gallery owner would reveal everything about the behind-the-scenes dealings of the art market and her own struggles to establish her artists. In her memoir's introduction, she declared: "I put in there, in bulk, everything I saw, everything that happened to me... I didn't take care to make beautiful sentences... I also very often included the prices of the paintings."
This last point carried particular significance—she was referring to works she sold at modest prices that are now worth fortunes. Weill's candid approach to documenting both her experiences and the financial realities of the art world promised to provide unprecedented insights into the early modern art market. Her memoir would serve as both a personal account and a valuable historical record of a transformative period in art history, when unknown artists were struggling for recognition in the galleries of Montparnasse and beyond.
