Claribel Cone (1864–1929) and Etta Cone (1870–1949), collectively known as the Cone sisters, were active as American art collectors and

socialites A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...

during the first part of the 20th century. Claribel trained as a

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

and Etta as a

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

. Their social circle included

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

and

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh), and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris in 1903, and ...

. They gathered one of the best known

private collections A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individual ...

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradit ...

in the United States at their

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

apartments, and the collection now makes up a wing of the

Baltimore Museum of Art The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) in Baltimore, Maryland, is an art museum that was founded in 1914. The BMA's collection of 95,000 objects encompasses more than 1,000 works by Henri Matisse anchored by the Cone Collection of modern art, ...

. Their collection was estimated to be worth almost a billion US dollars in 2002.

Early life

The Cones' parents were Herman (Kahn) Cone and Helen (Guggenheimer) Cone, who were

German-Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...

immigrants. Herman, who had immigrated from Altenstadt in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

(South of Ulm),

anglicized Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

his last name (changing it from "Kahn" to "Cone") almost immediately upon arrival in the United States in 1845. Until 1871, the family lived in

Jonesboro, Tennessee Jonesborough (; historically also Jonesboro) is a town in and the county seat of Washington County, Tennessee, in the Southeastern United States. Its population was 5,860 as of 2020. It is "Tennessee's oldest town". Jonesborough is part of the J ...

, where they had a successful

grocery A grocery store (American English, AE), grocery shop or grocer's shop (British English, BE) or simply grocery is a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food Product (business), products, which may be Fresh food, fresh or Food p ...

business. Claribel and Etta were born in Tennessee. Claribel, the fifth child in the family of thirteen children, was born November 14, 1864. Etta, the ninth child in the family, was born November 30, 1870. The Cone family had a history of slave ownership. Their father Herman and his brother-in-law Jacob Alder purchased three enslaved people in 1863. The family then moved to

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

. The eldest Cone brothers, Moses and Ceasar, later moved permanently to

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...

. They established a

textile manufacturing Textile manufacturing or textile engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful good ...

business named the Proximity Manufacturing Company (later known as Cone Mills Corporation, now a unit of

International Textile Group Elevate Textiles owns textile brands including American & Efird, Burlington, Cone Denim, Gütermann and Safety Components. Its global headquarters are in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company was founded by Wilbur Ross and was sold to Platinum ...

). The textile mills that their brothers started would make the Cone sisters wealthy, as Moses and Ceasar shared in their financial success with their siblings. The Cone sisters graduated from the Western Female High School. Against family wishes, Claribel studied at the

Women's Medical College of Baltimore A woman is an adult An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meani ...

. She graduated in 1890 and completed an internship at

Blockley Hospital for the Insane Blockley is a village, civil parish and ecclesiastical parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England, about northwest of Moreton-in-Marsh. Until 1931 Blockley was an exclave of Worcestershire. The civil and ecclesiastical paris ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. She then worked in the

pathology Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

laboratory of the

Johns Hopkins Medical School The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established in 1893 following the construction of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, the ...

and did postgraduate work at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

with the ambition of becoming a medical doctor, but ultimately never practiced clinical medicine. Claribel focused instead on teaching and research as a professor of pathology for 25 years at the Women's Medical College. Etta was a pianist and managed the family household affairs. The sisters traveled to Europe together yearly on long trips beginning in 1901.

Art collecting and connections

The Cone sisters were friends of literary figures such as

and

Alice B. Toklas Alice Babette Toklas (April 30, 1877 – March 7, 1967) was an American-born member of the Parisian avant-garde of the early 20th century, and the life partner of American writer Gertrude Stein. Early life Alice B. Toklas was born in San F ...

. Their social circle included French artist

and Spanish painter

. Etta began purchasing art in 1898, when she was given $300 by a brother to decorate the family home. Her purchase of five

impressionistic Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

paintings by

Theodore Robinson Theodore Robinson (June 3, 1852April 2, 1896) was an American painter best known for his Impressionist landscapes. He was one of the first American artists to take up Impressionism in the late 1880s, visiting Giverny and developing a close frien ...

began a lifetime of collecting. Her tastes at first tended toward the conservative, but one day in 1903, while the Cone sisters were on a European holiday, they visited Stein and her brother in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Etta was introduced to Picasso, followed by Matisse the next year, marking the beginning of her lifelong love of his art. The relationship the Cone sisters developed with Matisse was so close he referred to them as "my two Baltimore ladies." Matisse once did a sketch of Etta. Etta made purchases to help upcoming artists like Matisse, Picasso, and students of the Maryland Institute College (MICA). She also bought at very low prices from the Steins, who were perpetually in need of money and were known to purchase discarded sketches from Picasso at his art studio for two or three dollars apiece. Claribel acquired much more experimental grade works. She purchased Matisse's '' Blue Nude'' for 120,760

francs The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' ( King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centur ...

and

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work introduced new modes of representation, influenced avant-garde artistic movements of the early 20th century a ...

's mountain painting '' Mont Sainte Victoire as Seen From Bibemus Quarry'' for 410,000 francs. Etta, being more financially conservative, was more likely to spend 10,000 francs for a collection of drawings or paintings. The Cone sisters had a special interest in Matisse's

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million After Claribel's death, Etta became more adventurous in her purchases, for instance, purchasing Matisse's ''Large Reclining Nude'' (''The Pink Nude'') for 9,000 francs in 1936, or about $2,000 US at the time (). Cone sisters with Gertrude Stein

Gertrude Stein and her older brother

Leo Stein Leo Stein (May 11, 1872 – July 29, 1947) was an American art collector and critic. He was born in Allegheny City (now in Pittsburgh), the older brother of Gertrude Stein. He became an influential promoter of 20th-century paintings. Educatio ...

had been orphaned in 1892 and relocated to Baltimore to reside with their mother's sister. This had led to their becoming part of the Cone sisters' social crowd. During Claribel's time at the Women's Medical College of

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

, Gertrude was also studying there. There were many differences between Claribel and Gertrude. These individualistic women were attracted to each other, however, by their common interest in music, fine arts, and sociable conversations. Etta credited Leo Stein with helping her develop an appreciation of

. Etta was more reserved. She admired Gertrude's

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...

lifestyle, and biographer Brenda Richardson concludes that there is a strong possibility Etta and Gertrude were at one point lovers. The sisters' particular social contacts produced an advantage from which they could compile a world-renowned art collection. The Cone sisters built up a large collection of paintings and sculptures by Picasso, Matisse, Cézanne,

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...

and

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...

. Gertrude Stein later tried to undermine the Cone sisters as mere shoppers guided by their taste. In fact, the sisters had an excellent feel for fine art, influenced by the large collection of books on art which they purchased and used. The two sisters lived in apartments next to each other at the Marlborough Apartment building on

Eutaw Street Eutaw Street is a major street in Baltimore, Maryland, mostly within the downtown area. Outside of downtown, it is mostly known as Eutaw Place. The south end of Eutaw Street is at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. After this point, the street contin ...

in the Bolton Hill neighborhood of Baltimore for fifty years. Their art was hung on the walls of their individual apartments. The sisters' nephew later recollected that their display of pictures covered most of the wall space, even the bathroom walls. The Cone sisters also had an impressive collection of

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

acquired from various European sources. From early drawnwork styles such as

reticella Reticella (also reticello or in French point coupé or point couppe) is a needle lace dating from the 15th century and remaining popular into the first quarter of the 17th century. Reticella was originally a form of cutwork in which threads we ...

, to

needle lace Needle lace is a type of lace created using a needle and thread to create hundreds of small stitches to form the lace itself. Origins The origins of needle lace date back to the 15th century and embroidery. Cutwork and drawn work were de ...

and

bobbin lace Bobbin lace is a lace textile made by braiding and twisting lengths of yarn, thread, which are wound on #Bobbins, bobbins to manage them. As the work progresses, the weaving is held in place with pins set in a lace pillow, the placement of the pi ...

styles spanning the centuries, the Cone sisters amassed important examples that also reside in the

today and have been exhibited. Examples of the Cone lace pieces include a

Chantilly lace Chantilly lace is a handmade bobbin lace named after the city of Chantilly,"Chantilly" ''The Oxford English Dictionary''. 2nd ed. 1989. France, in a tradition dating from the 17th century. The famous silk laces were introduced in the 18th cent ...

fan, a Point de France flounce, and many other styles.

Museum legacies

While the sisters' collection remained private until Etta's death, Etta occasionally lent pieces to museums for exhibition. Claribel had willed her artistic paintings to Etta, spelling out in her will that these paintings should be transferred to the

if there was an interest in modern art. The bulk of the collection eventually went to that museum by Etta's will, and a new wing was added to the museum for the Cone Collection in 1957. The collection consists of approximately 3,000 items the Cone sisters had acquired over 50 years. The collection has not only French art, but American art as well, including over 1000 American prints, illustrated books, and drawings. Among these were cloth goods,

costume jewelry Costume or fashion jewelry includes a range of decorative items worn for personal adornment that are manufactured as less expensive ornamentation to complement a particular fashionable outfit or garmentBaker, Lillian. Fifty Years of Collectabl ...

, tables, chairs, and cabinets. The Cone sisters' items also include Coptic fragments,

Middle Eastern The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

silks, eighteenth-century jewelry, nineteenth-century furniture,

oriental rugs An oriental rug is a heavy textile made for a wide variety of utilitarian and symbolic purposes and produced in "Orient, Oriental countries" for home use, local sale, and export. Oriental carpets can be knotted-pile carpet, pile woven or Kilim, ...

, African adornment, Japanese prints, Egyptian sculpture, and antique

ivory carving Ivory carving is the carving of ivory, that is to say animal tooth or tusk, generally by using sharp cutting tools, either mechanically or manually. Objects carved in ivory are often called "ivories". Humans have ornamentally carved ivory sinc ...

s. The Cone Collection is used by art students and scholars from around the world as a research source. The estimated value of the Cone Collection in 2002 was close to $1 billion.

The Cone Collection includes Matisse's ''Blue Nude'' (1907) and ''Reclining Nude'' (1935), Cézanne's ''Mont Sainte Victoire as seen from Bibémus Quarry'' (1897), Gauguin's '' Woman of Mango'' (1892), and Picasso's ''Mother with Child'' (1922). The Cone sisters collected pieces from throughout Matisse's painting career, accumulating 42 of his oil paintings, 16 sculptures, 35 drawings, 150 prints, and a half dozen books of illustration, as well as over 200 hand drawings, art prints, and illustrated copper plates from Matisse's first published book of illustration, '' Poésies de Stéphane Mallarmé''. Other Matisse works they acquired were the 1917 ''Woman in a Turban (Lorette)'', ''Seated Odalisque, Knee Bent, Ornamental Background'' (1928), and ''Interior, Flowers with Parakeets'' (1924). The 500 works by Matisse in the Cone sisters' collection form the largest and most representative group of his art work in the world. The Cone sisters also acquired many of Picasso's works, and among these were 114 prints and drawings from his early years in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and from his Rose period (1905–1906) in Paris. A portion of the Cone art collection, including many Matisse

lithographs Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

and bronzes, resides at the

Weatherspoon Art Museum The Weatherspoon Art Museum is located at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and is one of the largest collections of modern and contemporary art in the southeast with a focus on American art. Its programming includes fifteen or more ...

at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

, where the Cone Mills were located. Moses Cone's vacation home Flat Top Manor was located in nearby

Blowing Rock, North Carolina Blowing Rock is a town in Watauga County, North Carolina, Watauga and Caldwell County, North Carolina, Caldwell counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 1,376 at the 2020 census. The Caldwell County portion of Blowing Roc ...

, and the Cone sisters often visited their brother there. Other visitors included Julius Cone – another of the Cone siblings – and his wife Laura, who was an alumnus of the University of North Carolina. Laura was aware that the Weatherspoon Art Gallery had been formed on the campus in 1942, and she asked Etta if she would be interested in making a gift of art. In her will, Etta left an endowment to the Weatherspoon Art Gallery consisting of sixty-seven Matisse prints, six Matisse bronzes, several modern prints, and art by Picasso,

Félix Vallotton Félix Édouard Vallotton (; December 28, 1865December 29, 1925) was a Swiss and French painter and printmaker associated with the group of artists known as '. He was an important figure in the development of the modern woodcut. He painted portra ...

Raoul Dufy Raoul Dufy (; 3 June 1877 – 23 March 1953) was a French painter associated with the Fauvist movement. He gained recognition for his vibrant and decorative style, which became popular in various forms, such as textile designs, and public build ...

, and

John D. Graham John D. Graham (, Kyiv, Ukraine – June 27, 1961, London, England) was a Ukrainian–born United States, American Modernism, modernist and Figurative art, figurative painter, art collector, and a mentor of modernist artists in New York City. B ...

Death

Claribel died September 20, 1929. Etta died on August 31, 1949. The Cone sisters were buried at Baltimore's

Druid Ridge Cemetery Druid Ridge Cemetery is located in Pikesville, Maryland, just outside the city of Baltimore. Among its monuments and graves are several noted sculptures by Hans Schuler and the final resting places of: *Felix Agnus, American Civil War general a ...

in an area called Hickory Knoll. The only word on their ten-by-ten family

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

is "Cone". Architect James O. Olney designed the Tennessee marble

, which is flanked by two Roman-style columns of Vermont granite and has two age-darkened bronze doors in front.

Footnotes

Sources

* * * * * * *

External links

*
Claribel and Etta Cone's documents at Baltimore Museum of Art.
'
Collecting Matisse and the modern masters works: Cone Sisters of Baltimore Exhibition
(2011) at Jewish Museum (New York City)
Claribel Cone's memorial at Find-a-Grave

Etta Cone's memorial at Find-a-Grave

"Etta Cone"
Jewish Women Archive, Harriet Feinberg {{DEFAULTSORT:Cone sisters American art collectors American Jews American women art collectors American people of German-Jewish descent People from Baltimore

Sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

American socialites Burials at Druid Ridge Cemetery 20th-century American women physicians 20th-century American physicians 19th-century American women physicians 19th-century American physicians People from Jonesborough, Tennessee Jewish art collectors