The 100 Most Powerful Women in Art: Part III

We celebrate women making a difference.

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Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Photo: Courtesy Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin
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Patricia Phelps de Cisneros.
Photo: Patrick McMullan, www.patrickmcmullan.com.
Ann Philbin: Director of the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles since 1999
Photo: Patrick McMullan
Lisa Phillips: Director of the New Museum of Contemporary Art, Phillips initiated the design of the New Museum’s first dedicated freestanding building
Photo: Patrick McMullan
Eva Presenhuber: Owner of leading contemporary art gallery Galerie Eva Presenhuber, located in Zurich, Switzerland
Photo: Courtesy Galerie Eva Presenhuber
Mari Carmen Ramírez: Director of the International Center for the Arts of the Americas at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Time has named her as one of the most influential Hispanics in America
Photo: Timothy Greenfield Sanders
Doreen Remen: Cofounder of the Art Production Fund alongside Yvonne Force Villareal, which helps artists complete difficult-to-produce artworks
Photo: Patrick McMullan
Andrea Rosen: Owner of two eponymous New York galleries
Photo: Patrick McMullan
Powerful: Mera Rubell
Unlike all the New Yorkers on this list, Rubell knows Miami like the palm of her own hand. Oh, and her Miami-based collection is one of the most extensive in America.
Photo: Getty
Beth Rudin DeWoody: Art collector and Executive Vice President of Rudin Management company, DeWoody is also president of the three Rudin family foundations and sits on the board of the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Brooklyn Academy of Music
Photo: Patrick McMullan
Beatrix Ruf Photo © Mathias Braschler
Beatrix Ruf: Director of the Kunsthalle Zurich for the past 12 years. In addition, Ruf is the Associate Director of the Ringier collection
Photo: Mathias Braschler
Elizabeth Sackler: Public historian, arts activist, and American Indian advocate, Sackler has been an important figure in arts education and philanthropy. She is currently President and CEO of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation Photo: Owen Hoffmann/ PatrickMcMullan.com
Elizabeth Sackler.
Photo: Owen Hoffmann/, courtesy Patrick McMullan.
Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Photo: Courtesy Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin
Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo
Photo: Courtesy Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin
Esther Schipper: Owner of Esther Schipper Gallery in Berlin.
Photo: Courtesy Esther Schipper Gallery.
Annabelle Selldorf: Principal of Selldorf Architects, which is known for designing spaces for Gagosian, David Zwirner, and other major galleries, as well as studio space for Jeff Koons and David Salle
Photo: Patrick McMullan
Cindy Sherman: Seminal feminist photographer best known for her conceptual portraits
Photo: Patrick McMullan
victoria-siddal-homepage-crop
Victoria Siddall: Director of Frieze Masters
Photo: Linda Nylind
Roberta Smith: Art critic for the New York Times
Photo: Tony Cenicola
Nancy Spector: Director and Chief Curator of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Photo: Patrick McMullan
Monika Sprüth: Co-owner of gallery Sprüth Magers alongside Philomene Magers
Photo: Maxime Ballesteros
Ali Subotnick: An editor, curator, and writer, Subotnick has written for publications such as Parkett and Frieze
Photo: Hammer Museum
Swoon. Courtesy of Patrick McMullan.
Swoon. Courtesy of Patrick McMullan.
Ann Temkin: Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis Chief Curator of Painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art in New York
Photo: Patrick McMullan
Mickalene Thomas: Artist whose work considers definitions of female beauty and what it means to be a woman, while drawing heavily on her knowledge of art history
Photo: Patrick McMullan
Yvonne Force Villareal: Cofounder, alongside Doreen Remen, of the Art Production Fund
Photo: Patrick McMullan
Olga Viso: Executive Director of the Walker Art Center Photo by David X. Prutting for Patrick McMullan.
Sheena Wagstaff: Curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, dedicated to the art of the 20th and 21st centuries
Photo: Courtesy Metropolitan Museum of Art
Kara Walker.
Photo: Patrick McMullan.
Dorsey Waxter: President of the Art Dealers Association of America and a partner in contemporary art gallery Van Doren Waxter
Photo: Patrick McMullan
Cheyenne Westphal: Worldwide Head of Sotheby's Contemporary Art
Cheyenne Westphal: Worldwide Head of Sotheby's Contemporary Art
Photo: Patrick McMullan.
Manuela Wirth: Co-owner of Hauser & Wirth contemporary art gallery alongside her husband Irwin Wirth. They have galleries in London, New York, and Zurich
Photo: Felix Clay
Anita Zabludowicz: Patron of the arts and trustee of Tate and Camden Arts Centre. Founded the Zabludowicz Collection alongside her husband
Photo: Patrick McMullan
Lynn Zelevansky: Director of the Carnegie Museum of Art
Photo: Joshua Franzos
Dasha Zhukova: Founder of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow, along with Garage Magazine. Zhukova is also a cofounder of Artsy
Photo: Patrick McMullan

Welcome to Part III of artnet News’s list of powerful women in the art world. There are so many ways to exercise influence and power in the art world but one thing is abundantly clear: Women play a leading role. artnet News continues its yearlong celebration of women in the art world with “The 100 Most Powerful Women in Art.” Our list, which is divided into three parts, is arranged alphabetically to avoid the perception of a ranking: We are celebrating the achievements of women in the art world, period.

The list was developed in consultation with art world denizens throughout Europe, Asia, and the US. They helped us compile a working list of the most powerful women in the art business. From the initial list of more than 300 names, the editors at artnet News chose 100. If you missed the first two parts of the list, we invite you to take a look and see who’s who on The 100 Most Powerful Women in Art: Part I and The 100 Most Powerful Women in Art: Part II. Read the third and final section of our list, below, to find out who is playing at the top of her game.

66. Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, Cofounder of the Cisneros Foundation
67. Ann Philbin, Director of the Hammer Museum
68. Lisa Phillips, Director of the New Museum of Contemporary Art
69. Eva Presenhuber, Gallerist
70. Pussy Riot, Artist Collective
71. Mari Carmen Ramírez, Director of the International Center for the Arts of the Americas
72. Doreen Remen, Cofounder of the Art Production Fund
73. Andrea Rosen, Gallerist
74. Mera Rubell, Collector
75. Beth Rudin DeWoody, Collector
76. Beatrix Ruf, Director of the Kunsthalle Zurich
77. Elizabeth Sackler, President and CEO of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation
78. Patrizia Sandretto, Founder of the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo
79. Esther Schipper, Gallerist
80. Annabelle Selldorf, Principal of Selldorf Architects
81. Cindy Sherman, Artist
82. Victoria Siddall, Director of Frieze Masters
83. Roberta Smith, New York Times Art Critic
84. Nancy Spector, Director and Chief Curator of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
85. Monika Spruth, Gallerist
86. Ali Subotnick, Writer and Curator
87. Swoon, Artist
88. Ann Temkin, Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art
89. Mickalene Thomas, Artist
90. Yvonne Force Villareal, Cofounder of the Art Production Fund
91. Olga Viso, Executive Director of the Walker Art Center
92. Francesca Von Habsburg, Collector
93. Sheena Wagstaff, Curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
94. Kara Walker, Artist
95. Dorsey Waxter, President of the Art Dealers Association of America
96. Cheyenne Westphal, Worldwide Head of Sotheby’s Contemporary Art
97. Manuela Wirth, Gallerist
98. Anita Zabludowicz, Collector
99. Lynn Zelevansky, Director of the Carnegie Museum of Art
100. Dasha Zhukova, Founder of Garage Museum of Contemporary Art


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