Europe’s first private museum dedicated exclusively to female creators has refreshed its permanent collection in Mougins, bringing nearly 75 newly installed works to its galleries.

Spanning four floors within the walls of the Femmes Artistes du Musée de Mougins, this permanent collection update traces a chronological journey from impressionism to the twenty-first century, introducing powerful new acquisitions and rarely seen pieces.

From impressionism to surrealism

The ground-floor galleries trace the early foundations of modern art through the women who shaped them. Alongside core works by Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, Eva Gonzalès, and Marie Bracquemond, the display features Julie Manet’s Modèle en Rouge (c. 1900). Daughter of Berthe Morisot and niece of Édouard Manet, Manet grew up at the heart of the impressionist circle before dedicating her life to preserving its legacy. She is joined by works from Blanche Hoschedé-Monet, Claude Monet’s stepdaughter and sole pupil, highlighting the direct lineage of en plein air painting.

Moving upward, the rooms transition into the fantastical shapes of surrealism. Leonora Carrington, Jane Graverol, Mimi Parent, Marion Adnams, and Dorothea Tanning are exhibited alongside Leonor Fini, highlighted by Fini’s 1952 oil on canvas Dans la tour (Autoportrait avec Constantin Jelenski), secured following a major record acquisition by The Levett Collection.

Abstract expressionism and the body

On the first floor, the focus shifts to post-war abstraction to highlight overlooked women artists. The galleries showcase works by American artists active in New York during the 1950s and 1960s—such as Sonia Gechtoff, Pat Passlof, Ethel Schwabacher, Miriam Schapiro, Michael Corinne West, and Perle Fine—who worked shoulder-to-shoulder with male peers like Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko without achieving the same fame. 

Other notable additions include a 1970 canvas by Finnish artist Iria Leino from her ‘Buddhist Rain’ series, created after she left a high-fashion modelling career for Balmain and Dior to develop a meditative, poured-acrylic abstraction in New York. The floor also features newer works by Kirsty Chan, Woo Min Jung, and Navajo-rooted abstract artist Emmi Whitehorse.

The upper galleries explore identity, the body, and self-portraiture. A powerful curatorial dialogue places Carolee Schneemann’s 1986 tribute ‘Hand-Heart for Ana Mendieta’ directly alongside an original 1973 piece by Mendieta. Nearby, the display features two expressive upper-body sculptures by Nice-born artist Nicole Farhi, who transitioned from a celebrated career as a high-end fashion designer to focus full-time on the human form. 

This is complemented by a dedicated drawings wall bringing together works on paper by Lee Krasner, Alice Neel, and Cecily Brown, alongside a photographic feature wall featuring rare portraits by Lee Miller, Kati Horna, and Dora Maar, proving they supported each other before the art world noticed them.

Continuing the legacy

The tour concludes in the contemporary galleries with 21st-century works by artists such as Clare Rojas, Anj Smith, Chloe Wise, and Rita Maikova, and Lalla Essaydi. Essaydi is a Moroccan-born multidisciplinary artist whose photography and painting explore womanhood, identity, and the Muslim world, often challenging traditional 19th-century Orientalist perspectives.

Many of the artists featured in FAMM’s permanent collection are currently starring in major international museum exhibitions, including retrospectives for Leonor Fini at the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt and the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, Leonora Carrington at the Musée du Luxembourg, and Cecily Brown at the Serpentine.

By showcasing these women artists and connecting them to major exhibitions happening right now around the world, the museum is helping ensure that female creators are recognised as a vital, ongoing part of the main story of art.

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From left to right: Le petit pont de Giverny by Blanche Hoschedé-Monet and Julie Manet’s Modèle en Rouge. Photo credit: Virginia D’Umas