Pol De Mont and Friends: A Curator, Donations, and Gift Culture in Early Twentieth-Century Antwerp

Abstract

From 1904 to 1919, Pol De Mont (1857–1931) was curator-in-chief of Antwerp’s Fine Arts museum, one of Belgium’s oldest and most important municipal galleries. One of his tasks consisted of expanding the collection. Local private collectors had already been involved with the museum. In fact, a local tradition of gift-giving dated back to the beginning of the nineteenth century. De Mont acknowledged the potential of private donations and established himself as one of the leaders of Antwerp’s municipal gift culture. At the same time, he respected the viewpoints of donors, some of whom who had been active in the field of fine arts longer than him. In order to direct patrons towards the museum, he created enduring bonds with donors, combining expertise with a personal approach.This article discusses how De Mont’s curatorial practice interacted with the agency of donors and vice versa. He combined research, connoisseurship, and art market insight to establish his authority. Furthermore, this article demonstrates how De Mont persuaded patrons to donate. His analysis of the obligatory nature of gifts was crucial, inherent to the social dimension of what he perceived as a historic gift culture. In this process, De Mont’s personality and creativity also played a role insofar as he was highly persuasive and used language and metaphors to stress the validity of patronage; and he expressed genuine friendship and respect towards patrons and placed his expertise in their service.