The Collection of Croatian Women Painters Born in the 19 th Century is a thematically conceived and conceptually unique whole comprising 1,077 works by 33 women painters. The Collection was donated to the City of Zagreb by Dr. Josip Kovačić in 1988, and since 2022, it has been managed by the Zagreb City Museum. The Collection holds exceptional importance for the understanding of women’s artistic production of the second half of the 19 th and first half of the 20 th century, which was long marginalized or even forgotten. In addition to being a valuable testament to women’s artistic production, it is an important resource for understanding the position of women in art and society. Therefore, the affirmation of the Collection within the Zagreb City Museum is not only considered in the artistic context, but also within a broader social framework.
The works in the Collection, along with the biographical data of women artists, raise numerous important questions about the position of women in the art world, both in the past and today, about the discrimination of women, the struggle for women’s rights, about equality and gender identities. Aside from shedding light on past social circumstances, the Collection can equally serve as a stimulus for questioning, and even reorienting, current and future values. These are the foundations upon which the actualization, affirmation, and promotion of the Collection, are based, with the aim of making it accessible, engaging, and relevant to various types of users.