Caretaker of a collection: The case of Jo van Bilderbeek-Lamaison

Abstract

When re-assessing women’s roles in the art world, we should not neglect traditional, perhaps stereotypical, functions. Jo van Bilderbeek-Lamaison (1849-1951) exemplifies the importance of caretaking: after her husband’s death in 1918, she played a crucial role in caring for their art collection and bequeathing it to the state. She lived in a Dordrecht house museum (the Rijks­museum Van Bilderbeek-Lamaison, not publicly accessible), carefully exercising her respons­ibility ‘in her husband’s spirit’ in house maintenance, loans of artworks, and art preservation – a challenge given the fuel crisis in the 1930s and 1940s. 

This case study sheds light on women’s role in the art world around 1900 from the perspective of separate public/private spheres and the associated distinction between productive labour and reproductive or caring labour. The case suggests that caring labour is not be limited to care for people, but can include care for objects, such as an art collection in a house museum.

Keywords: house museum, caretaking, art collection, labour theory