Jennifer Rubio is recognized in the art world as an art collector. Although she has been collecting art for less than a decade, her impact on this field is similar to her influence on the luggage brand Away, which they founded in 2015. Rubio acknowledges the impact of her collection on art and women artists, stating that her choices have been largely driven by emotion.
Collecting Art and Supporting Women Artists
Rubio states: "I didn't focus on collecting women surrealists because I felt I needed to support the assets of these women whose rights are not fully recognized. The art is so good that these decisions came about naturally." She emphasizes that more than half of her collection consists of works by women artists, and this effort has helped elevate artists who have been historically undervalued.
Donation to the Metropolitan Museum and Its Impacts
In April, Jennifer Rubio and her husband, Stewart Butterfield, a technology billionaire, donated over $23 million to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This donation helps the museum maintain its ability to pay its interns. Rubio says: "I have always been interested in interventions that happen early enough to change someone's life path."
The couple also helped several museums acquire artworks they loved but could not afford on their own. Rubio mentions: "Collecting art really relates to what I want to live with. Charity also relates to what I want to leave behind after me." In this way, she has not only engaged in collecting art but also pays special attention to social and cultural concerns.
