From TIME · · 1m 10s
Jennifer Rubio's art collecting revolution
The Away co-founder is reshaping the art world by collecting work by undervalued female artists and giving millions to museums.
In brief
The Away co-founder is reshaping the art world by collecting work by undervalued female artists and giving millions to museums. Authentic collecting driven by personal taste can have outsized impact on art history and institutional change. Originally reported by TIME.
From luggage to fine art
Jennifer Rubio co-founded Away suitcases in 2015 and has now made a similar impact on the art world in less than a decade of serious collecting.
More than half her collection is women
Her collection has elevated historically undervalued female artists, particularly women Surrealists, though she says her choices came from genuine love of the work.
“The art is just so good.”
23 million for museum interns
In April, Rubio and her soon-to-be-ex-husband Stewart Butterfield pledged over $23 million to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to ensure it can always pay its interns.
Helping museums buy dream works
The couple also helped several museums purchase artworks they loved but couldn't otherwise afford, expanding access to important pieces.
Collecting versus philanthropy
Rubio distinguishes between personal collecting, which is about what she wants to live with, and philanthropy, which is about what she wants to outlive her.
“Philanthropy is about what I want to outlive me.”
The takeaway
Authentic collecting driven by personal taste can have outsized impact on art history and institutional change.
