Dismantling patronage: exploring the evolution and influence of female collecting and philanthropy through National Trust collections

This article highlights a seed-funded research project to map and shine light on the network of women who shaped many National Trust collections and properties. By examining the collections they built, this research restores female perspectives often missing from historical narratives. It focuses on the period between 1880 and 1920, a time of shifting gender roles, expanding property rights, and rising philanthropic influence. During these decades, women collectors in Britain and the United States worked with artists, architects, dealers, and institutions to form significant collections now cared for by the Trust. Key figures include Cara Broughton, Margaret Greville, Mary Leiter, Lady Londonderry, Alice de Rothschild, Maud Russell, and Edith Vane-Tempest-Stewart. As this article will demonstrate en passant, their activities intersected with major female American collectors such as Mildred Barnes Bliss, Isabella Stewart Gardner, and Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney.