Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America

Winthrop, Clara Bowdoin

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role Collector
dates 1876-1969
city Boston
stateMA
sex F
historical notes Clara Bowdoin Winthtrop was an art collector, philanthropist, and relative of John Kerry, a U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate.

Winthrop was a world traveler, and is known to have visited India. While on a trip to Italy, Winthrop purchased an oil painting which was thought to be a reproduction of a work by Andrea del Sarto. In 1935, she donated the painting to the All Saints' Episcopal Church in West Newbury, Massachusetts. The painting hung over the choir stalls in an enormous gilt frame for several years until it was taken down and stored in a closet, and then in the rectory's attic. In 1999, it was discovered that the painting was not an imitation, but was The Madonna and Child by del Sarto.

The painting was then sold at auction by Sotheby's for $1,102,500.; The Clara B. Winthrop Trust is named for her.
decades
of activity
1920-1930
updated 10/31/2024 13:33:17
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Archives/Repository Collection Title Collection Details
Massachusetts Historical Society
1154 Boylston Street


Winthrop family papers,1537-1990 [bulk: 1620-1900].
see details...
Boston Athenaeum
Library of the Boston Athenæum
Clara Bowdoin Winthrop Poems, 1919-1930. see details...