Glenstone acquires a cycle of works by Hilma af Klint
Hilma af Klint - Tree of Knowledge No1 - 1913Hilma af Klint - Tree of Knowledge No5 - 1913
Glenstone, the private museum founded by collectors Mitchell Rales and Emily Wei Rales, has announced the acquisition of a major series of works by Hilma af Klint, the enigmatic pioneer of abstraction, which will be the first works by the artist in an American museum.
Source: David Zwirner Gallery and own elaboration. Images: Hilma af Klint, "Tree of Knowledge, No. 1" and "Tree of Knowledge, No. 5", 1913-1915
Hilma af Klint (Swedish, 1862-1944) is one of the most fascinating and enigmatic figures in modern painting. From 1906 onwards, the artist's interest in spiritualism led her to create a series of paintings on mystical themes ("Primordial Chaos", "Seven-pointed Star", etc.) which, in the opinion of more and more historians, constitute the first attempt -at least in the European tradition- to represent a reality other than the observable one, and are therefore the first examples of modern abstract art, years before artists such as Kandinsky or Delaunay presented their paintings. However, by the artist's own wishes, these works were not exhibited until years after her death, although some authors have suggested that Kandinsky may have seen her paintings in 1908. Rediscovered at the end of the 20th century, in recent years her work has gained popularity among art historians and art lovers, with her work being the subject of both museum exhibitions and viral threads on Twitter and Instagram.
One such exhibition will take place at the David Zwirner Gallery in London, from 2 March to 2 April 2022, focusing on "Tree of Knowledge", a cycle of paintings on paper created by Hilma af Klint between 1913 and 1915. The gallery (which had already exhibited the works in New York from 4 November 2021 to 29 January 2022) has announced that the cycle of paintings has been acquired by Glenstone, the private museum founded by Mitchell Rales and Emily Wei Rales in a natural wonderland in Potomac, USA. "When we were entrusted with ‘Tree of Knowledge’, we were given the mandate to find an institutional home for these works. I am proud to announce that this home will be Glenstone Museum, a truly artist-centric institution, and a place where visual culture, architecture, and nature blend perfectly. I want to assume that Hilma would be pleased,” stated David Zwirner. For her part, Glenstone Museum director and co-founder Emily Wei Rales noted that "the discovery of Hilma af Klint’s extraordinary vision and accomplishments in recent years has upended long-held theories about the development of abstraction in Western art."
Although no details have been released about the price paid for the works, it does not seem too risky to affirm that the acquisition is a great success for Glenstone, an institution that, on the other hand, has announced that this spring it will organise two exhibitions dedicated to two important contemporary women artists: Simone Leigh (from 24 February) and Doris Salcedo (beginning in May 2022).

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