70. SARA HILDÉN - Portrait of a patron,
12 March - 24 April 1994
The exhibition presented Professor Sara Hildén's
(b. 1905 Tampere, d. 1993 Tampere) life and the environment in which she
worked and lived.
The exhibition with its four sections covered the entire
upper floor of the museum.
The Central Gallery displayed a number of photographs
of Sara Hildén from different periods. They were complemented by
a printed and illustrated publication about her life from 1905-62 before
the Sara Hildén Foundation was established.
Gallery A displayed Sara Hildén's home collection
consisting of African and Egyptian sculptures as well as Indian and Mexican
artefacts.
Gallery B presented photographs of Sara Hildén's
home as well as ceramics, glass and paintings which were important to
her.
Gallery C displayed a selection from the Foundation's
collection of works by Finnish artists with whom Sara Hildén had
been in close cooperation over the years.
Sara Hildén is known as a patron, art lover and collector, and as the creator of an extensive collection of modern art.
Her work as a supporter of the visual arts is admired and respected. She
is also remembered as a business woman, the energetic director of the
Muotitalo Hildén Fashion House.
During her life, Sara Hildén wanted to turn the
attention from her own persona to the artists who were represented in
the collection. She was so successful that her own life and herself as
a person have remained unknown even to many who were close to her.
Sara Hildén expanded her art collection boldly
and without prejudice. She dared to make bold decisions and favoured unconventional
solutions. This was an ability that had developed along with her experience
of life. Knowing some facts about Sara Hildén's life also helps
to understand the special features of the collection that she created.
The aim of the exhibition was also to make Sara Hildén
as a person more familiar to the public, as a strong personality, as a
woman with a modest background who created an art collection with her
own work and talent and who wanted to give it to the Finnish public for
their enjoyment.
Works from the Sara Hildén Foundation were displayed
on the lower floor of the museum.
Catalogue:
Sara Hildén, Mesenaatin muotokuva
1994, 55 pages
Sara Hildén Art Museum Publication 59 (Text in Finnish)
ISBN 952-9652-14-3
ISSN 0357-3001
Price FIM 50
4,305 visitors attended the exhibition.
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