Female Patrons of the Arts (Week 3: Journal)

Not being too clear about female patrons of the arts, I did a little research and discovered a list of women who are currently listed as some of the top female collectors of our time. I read through the list and one name, in particular, called out to me: Sheikha Al Mayassa Al Thani.

Sheikha Mayassa bint Hamad al-Thani, daughter of the Emir of Qatar and head of the Board of the Qatar Museums Authority. Photographer: Karim Jaafar/AFP/Getty Images
Sheikha Mayassa bint Hamad al-Thani, daughter of the Emir of Qatar and head of the Board of the Qatar Museums Authority. Photographer: Karim Jaafar/AFP/Getty Images

Perhaps it is because she is royalty, or maybe I’m interested in her because I have been to Doha, where she resides, and their art and culture fascinates me. I did some research about her and am utterly astounded by what she has accomplished.

While she is royalty, she is also an extremely well-educated woman, something you don’t hear much about from the Middle-East, or rather you would hear otherwise from Western propaganda.

She is the Director of the Qatar Museum Authority which manages the Museum of Islamic Art and the soon to open National Museum of Qatar and Orientalist Museum. She was also listed as one of the most influential people in the world by TIME magazine and has also topped the lists in ArtReview’s 2014 ranking of the art world’s 100 most influential figures, otherwise known as the power 100. Not only did she rank above countless Westerners, but in fact, she has outranked many men, something you don’t hear much about, especially a woman coming from the Middle-East.

She originally came into the art world’s view after spending $250 million on the Card Players, but soon rose to even higher heights after her organisations annual spending of about $1 billion.

Card_Players-Paul_Cezanne
Card Players (5th version) (ca.1894-1895) by Paul Cezanne, oil on canvas, Musée d’Orsay