Female Old Masters Steal the Show at TEFAF

"Women of our generation are finding a voice, remarking upon the voids in collections. It is a positive change, and a bit of a hype. People ask if it's temporary. I don't think so—women make up only one or two percent of most collections."

"Demand for rediscovered women artists has been building for years. The game now is for experts to find work by newer-to-the-canon names and to reattribute works long assigned to men. After centuries of misattribution and blatant disregard for pre-modern female artists, they now represent a lucrative category in an art market that is emerging from a long contraction."

At TEFAF Maastricht, a premier fair for Old Master paintings and antiquities, dealers are capitalizing on growing demand for rediscovered women artists. After centuries of misattribution and neglect, female artists now represent a lucrative market category. Women currently comprise only one to two percent of most collections, creating substantial opportunity for growth. A virtual map tracking women artists at the fair shows dramatic expansion: from 56 galleries with 420 works in 2023 to 112 exhibitors with over 670 works in the current year. High-profile sales, including Artemisia Gentileschi's Self-Portrait selling for $5.69 million, demonstrate market momentum. Dealers view this trend as permanent rather than temporary, reflecting genuine institutional and collector interest in addressing historical gaps.

Read at Artnet News