Berthe Weill, Art Dealer
of the Parisian Avant-Garde

The MMFA exhibition invites us to explore the universe of this trailblazer in modern art

May 1, 2025

The exhibition Berthe Weill: Art Dealer of the Parisian Avant-Garde at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) offers a captivating deep dive into the life and work of Berthe Weill, a bold and long-overlooked figure in the history of modern art. Born in 1865 to a modest family, Berthe Weill trained early on as an antiques dealer before opening her own gallery in 1901 at 25 rue Victor-Massé, in the heart of Paris’s Pigalle district, then the nerve centre of the city’s artistic life. She became the first female art dealer in the capital at a time when the art market was dominated by men.

Georges Kars, Portrait of Berthe Weill, 1933. © Maxime Champion

The exhibition traces the journey of this remarkable woman, from her beginnings as an apprentice to her fight for the recognition of avant-garde artists, underscoring her decisive influence on the emergence of modernity in Paris. From the moment she opened her gallery, Berthe Weill stood out for her unwavering commitment to young, innovative artists, never hesitating to exhibit then-unknown talents who would later become pillars of the avant-garde.

She was the first to sell works by Picasso, the first to exhibit Matisse, and the only dealer to give Modigliani a solo show during his lifetime. Her gallery became a springboard for major artists such as Raoul Dufy, Diego Rivera, Suzanne Valadon, Aristide Maillol, André Derain, Robert Delaunay, Marc Chagall, as well as women painters like Émilie Charmy, Hermine David, Alice Halicka, Jacqueline Marval, and Marie Laurencin. Over forty years, she organized nearly 400 exhibitions, with a third dedicated to women artists, a remarkable achievement for the era.

Berthe Weill didn’t just champion the most innovative movements, from Fauvism to Cubism; she also challenged the status quo, confronting social prejudice, sexism, and antisemitism. Her dedication was total, sometimes at the expense of her financial stability, and her gallery became a hub for meetings, exchanges, and debates that helped shape twentieth-century artistic modernity. Despite her pivotal role, Berthe Weill remained in the shadow of her male counterparts, such as Vollard and Kahnweiler, ending her life in precarious circumstances, dispossessed by antisemitic laws during the Occupation.

The MMFA exhibition brings together more than 100 major works – paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, and jewellery – from prestigious European and North American collections, and rare archival documents: catalogues, invitations, photographs, and letters. The exhibition also highlights two modern portraits of Berthe Weill, recently acquired by the museum.

Berthe Weill: Art Dealer of the Parisian Avant-Garde

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
May 10 to September 7, 2025
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA)
1380 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal

Image: Émilie Charmy – Portrait of Berthe Weill, c.1920, detail – Courtoisie du MBAM

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