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What They Collect

The Collector Who Became the Portrait

· 1 min read
Woman in stylish dress sitting in art gallery with dramatic portrait backdrop.
Photo by Eyüpcan Timur on Pexels

A new book traces how Betty Freeman, a collector known for her support of the arts, came to sit for David Hockney and take her place in one of his paintings. According to the book, the sittings became as much a portrait of Freeman finding herself as of Hockney finding his subject. The account frames the collector not simply as a patron behind the scenes, but as someone who stepped, deliberately, into the frame.

The American Set on film — also on Instagram.

With reporting from Artnet News.

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