Once again, women are ruling the roost at a major art fair, as galleries and museums alike scramble to be the first to revive the reputation of yet another shamefully overlooked historical virtuosa. For those flocking to TEFAF Maastricht this week, there should be plenty of new discoveries in store, as well as some old favorites that have finally made their way into the mainstream.
In the latter category is Camille Claudel, who has rightfully stepped out of the shadows of her mentor and ex-lover Rodin to command sweeping museum shows and fetch million dollar prices. Several of her works will be on view courtesy of Galerie Malaquais.
Galerie Zlotowski, meanwhile, is taking no risks that any men might steal away the show with its all-woman booth. Among the intergenerational mix are such stars as Louise Bourgeois, Sheila Hicks, Sonia Delaunay, Vera Molnar, and Marcelle Cahn.
But what about the hidden treasures that aren’t yet on our radar? Here’s our pick of three more women artists at TEFAF that deserve your attention.
Juliana Seraphim
Juliana Seraphim, Princess with a Hookah (1994). Photo courtesy of Richard Saltoun.
A clear standout at this TEFAF this spring is the selection of several works by Palestinian artist Juliana Seraphim (1934–2005) on view at Richard Saltoun’s booth. One of the leading Middle Eastern modernists during the second half of the 20th century, she has often been compared to the Surrealists. These elements are certainly apparent in her work, but they have been layered into sensually rich, sometimes erotic scenes that are rendered in wonderfully superfluous detail.
In producing these unique visions, Seraphim was certainly aware of her position as a woman. “Consciously I want to portray a woman’s world and how important love is to a woman,” she said in 1987. “Few men understand the quality of love a woman seeks. I try to show them.”
Hilla von Rebay
Hilla von Rebay, Masque (c. 1928). Photo courtesy of Galerie Raphaël Durazzo.
The aristocratic Baroness Hilla von Rebay, who was born in Strasbourg in 1890 but died an American in 1967, was best known as the co-founder and first director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. She was also an artist, and her love of abstraction was instrumental in influencing Guggenheim to pour money into sponsoring the movement.
Rebay had emigrated from France to the U.S. in 1927, leaving behind many friends from the Old World’s avant-garde scene, including Jean Arp, Kandinsky, Klee, Franz Marc, Rudolf Bauer, and Otto Nebel. Knowledge of their work helped Rebay to usher in a new era of American art as she joined the first generation of New York artists to embrace abstraction, or Non-Objective Art as she preferred to call it. A rare figurative piece from Rebay’s oeuvre, the highly-stylized Masque (c. 1928) is offered at TEFAF by Galerie Raphaël Durazzo.
Bianca Boni
Bianca Boni, The Cumaean Sybil. Photo courtesy Walter Padovani.
This charming miniature by Bianca Boni is painted after the Baroque painter Domenichino’s painting The Cumaean Sybil, currently in the Galleria Borghese. In watercolor on ivory, the fragile and precious object is stored within a bound leather case that is lined with silk. It might once have served as a souvenir of a beloved painting for an wealthy patron on a Grand Tour around Europe. This piece is brought to TEFAF by Walter Padovani.
Little is known about the artist, who was born in Rome in 1786, the daughter of Tuscan sculptor Giuseppe Boni. As well as copies of Old Masters like this, Boni also produced many portraits. In 1825, she was elected to be an honorable member of the prestigious Academy of St. Luke, with the academy telling it that it had long “admired your skill in the art of fine miniature painting and your rare constancy in the practice of that discipline, thanks to which you have forged a reputation for yourself both in Rome and aboard.”
TEFAF Maastricht is open to the public from March 15-20, 2025.
